Last week, Facebook gave its social network a noticeable facelift with the new Timeline profile pages. The old, familiar "Wall" is gone and has been replaced with a look that is more creative and interesting to look at. Friends are able to look at any activity, photo, video, status update that is added to your profile reaching all the way back to the day you were born, depending on what you have included on your Timeline.
The new Facebook profile features a cover photo across the top portion of the screen and several blocks of activities underneath. The new Timeline feature can be viewed on desktop computers, Android phones and, now, iPhones and will soon be available on the iPad.
As with any new social networking feature, there are a few important things that you will need to know in order to make the most of it. Here is what you need to know about the new Facebook Timeline:
Sign up: For anyone who still hasn't made the switch, it's free to update by visiting facebook.com/about/timeline. When you land on that page, look for the green box at the bottom that says "Get Timeline." When you click on it, you will be able to start setting up your own Timeline.
Eventually, all of the profiles will be switched to this new format, so there's no sense in waiting. Go ahead and get to work on it so you can ensure that it looks the way you want.
It has been confirmed by Facebook that you can't go back to the old version once the switch to Timeline has been made.
You get a week to review: When you start the switch to Timeline, you will have a seven-day review period before your new profile is viewable by your friends. Take that time to make any tweaks and adjustments so that only the things you want seen will be seen. Once the week is up, the profile will be switched over.
Choose an ideal cover photo: The cover photo is hard to miss on the new profile pages, so be sure to pick a good one. You want a high-resolution image that won't look distorted when displayed in wide rage. Your profile picture is still going to be on the page, so pick something unique, like a picture of your pet, your favorite vacation spot, or anything that represents you. This cover photo is viewed by the public, even if you set your account to private, so keep that in mind when choosing an image.
Your privacy settings stay the same: Facebook promised the FTC that users would be asked permission before any changes are made to their privacy settings or profile. If you have it set so that "just friends" can view photos and posts, then that is how it will stay.
You can feature or hide old posts: In your Activity Log, you can delete or alter anything that has been posted on your profile. Some events will be featured automatically on the Timeline, like your birthday or wedding. You can also choose which events to feature yourself by clicking on the star icon. To remove an event from being featured, you can simply click on the pencil icon and choose the "Hide from Timeline" option.
What you should avoid: The last thing you want is for an embarrassing picture, circa 1992, to pop up in your Timeline without your permission. If you don't change the settings, any of your friends can tag you in a photo that they've uploaded and it will show up on your Timeline. To avoid this, go to the Facebook privacy settings and click on the option "How you connect" in order to manage who has permission to post things to your Timeline and who can view posts from others on your Timeline.
Have you updated your own profile to the new Timeline? What do you think about the changes? Do you prefer the old school version or the new one? Share with us!
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