Screenshot: Facebook Sidebar (4/07/09)
Now added to my “Inefficient” Web Commentary* series is Facebook. Facebook recently underwent a design change that caused quite the uproar with its users (not that it stops them from using the service, but like the current theme, we do somehow seem okay with living life with a marginal amount of dysfunction and a healthy dose of hope – or ability to complain). In any case, this series will just be about things I think would make Facebook work more efficiently. We will start with something I noted today about the Home Page.
I could go on about the insanity of the Friend Feed, but I’m not as bothered by it. What I want to focus on is the sidebar. See the screenshot to the left. It’s a lot of stuff and I’ve even cut out like four boxes from my “highlights”. I don’t really mind that they’re telling me all this stuff. What I do mind is that I can’t tell them how important this stuff is to me.
If I had my way, I’d order it
1) Requests
2) Events
3) Highlights and
4) “People You May Know”.
I understand entirely not being able to move the advertisement (they have to make money, right?).
What bothers me a bit is that it’s not like Facebook doesn’t let me do this in other places:
Facebook Profile - Moving Boxes
For now, I guess setting the precedence of my Fluff Friend is about all the power I have.
Next Inefficient: Facebook? Profile Feed.
-cct
*To be fair, I will have some “Efficient” posts up. Found one I really liked today on facebook actually.
All I want is for the events (birthdays especially) to be near the top.
No kidding. That’s probably my baseline desire. I feel like I must have missed ten birthdays since they changed that (if not more).
I really wish they would implement this. As you’ve said, I’ve missed dozens of birthdays already, and completely given up on keeping up with “pokes”.
If their reasoning is that they don’t want the ads being moved — why not put them on the left? There’s a huge empty sidebar there just waiting for something to fill it.
I’m not sure their reasoning is the ads. They could easily make that the area that you can’t replace or adjust (the top 2-3 boxes of a person’s profile can’t be switched around) or put it at the top, so that the items below can be shuffled.
I also think it’s kind of ironic because isn’t the social networking experience supposed to reflect the user? So shouldn’t the user be able to say what it’s important to them? If that’s the logic, why are they things they tell me are important “Highlights” and “Suggested Friends” above the user’s preference for events and birthdays?