Some still not warming up to new Facebook
The new Facebook came whether you liked it or not.
The popular social networking site switched over to its new format last week. The new look, which has been optional for months, is now the permanent layout.
The new format does not add or take away any functions but is organized and navigated differently.
Junior Jon Bush said having information on multiple screens annoys him to the point that he’s on the site less than before.
“I don’t surf, I don’t check other people’s profiles because it’s a pain,” Bush said.
Product manager for the new version of Facebook Mark Slee said he thinks the new format is beneficial.
“We set out to make Facebook simpler, cleaner, more relevant and easier to control,” he said in a post on his blog, known as The Facebook Blog. “We believe we’ve gotten to the best Facebook yet.”
The site is riddled with groups speaking out both in support and in complaint of the changes.
The vast majority of groups are made up of users who have a problem with the new format. Amongst these groups are “1,000,000 AGAINST THE NEW FACEBOOK LAYOUT!” which includes more than 1.6 million members and “Petition Against the New Facebook,” with more than 1.2 million members.
Groups such as “I Kind of Like the New Facebook!,” which boasts more than 3,000 users, support the change.
Count sophomore Matt Hamm among those who like the new format.
“It removes all the clutter of all the people’s add-ons,” he said. “I think it’s easier to get to things that actually matter on Facebook.”
Bush, who said he sent negative feedback back to Facebook when he saw the new format, said he isn’t against having the new layout, but wished he could still use the older version.
Slee said in his blog he realizes the new format will take some getting used to.
“We understand that some people will be uncomfortable with the changes,” Slee wrote in his blog. “But over time we think people will appreciate the advantages of the new design and the new features it offers.”
The Indiana Daily Student contributed to this report.
