2008 Woodie Awards
Point Counterpoint: The 'New' Facebook of The 'Old' Facebook
To Stalk or Not to Network
Matthew Coyne
Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: Op Ed
I logged in to Facebook about a week and a half ago and was immediately confused. I saw a convoluted version of the social networking website I have come to know, love, and utilize to stalk people I may or may not know over the Internet. I was furious.
What my esteemed colleague, David Ellison, does not realize is that this new Facebook simply complicates the process of "social networking."
For one, my profile only consists of my wall, which is simply a shell of its former self, now consisting of all my recent activity instead of just comments. And trust me, there's a lot of recent activity, since no one likes me enough to write on my wall. It wasn't like that with the old Facebook. Nope. It actually looked like I had friends.
My "Basic Information" box is relegated to the left sidebar, instead of the top of my profile page with this newfangled redesigned Facebook. I demand people see that I am Facebook-married to one of my friends from home and that I have forsaken my home network of Bridgeport-Stamford, CT for New York, NY.
These two factors, especially, create a tough time trying to learn about people you have not seen for a long time. You have to scour their page to find that information. Of course, Dave would not need this information, as he just wants to see pictures. Preferably beach pictures, as Dave is an online predator.
Furthermore, none of my applications show up on my main profile page, either. You have to click another a tab to see those. I need people to see that I have added, but have never actively used, the New York Yankees, New York Giants, or New York Rangers fan applications. People will not be able to enjoy my LOLcats application. Before the switch it was a cat sticking her head through a window with a caption reading "I WATCH YOU UNDRESS." How will my Facebook friends know that I watch them undress? Now they'll have to look out their windows.
The old Facebook was fine. Everything was on one page. It was functional and enjoyable to use. Then out of nowhere it changes into something complicated and impossible to understand.
On the new Facebook, while my news feed stays the same, it's harder to see birthdays and events. It's tougher to see the groups people belong to or their educational information. If anything, the new Facebook makes it harder to keep in touch with people, which is the point of social networking.
Or just creepily staring at the pictures you uploaded from last Thursday night in a dark room breathing heavily - which is how Dave spends most of his Friday nights.
What my esteemed colleague, David Ellison, does not realize is that this new Facebook simply complicates the process of "social networking."
For one, my profile only consists of my wall, which is simply a shell of its former self, now consisting of all my recent activity instead of just comments. And trust me, there's a lot of recent activity, since no one likes me enough to write on my wall. It wasn't like that with the old Facebook. Nope. It actually looked like I had friends.
My "Basic Information" box is relegated to the left sidebar, instead of the top of my profile page with this newfangled redesigned Facebook. I demand people see that I am Facebook-married to one of my friends from home and that I have forsaken my home network of Bridgeport-Stamford, CT for New York, NY.
These two factors, especially, create a tough time trying to learn about people you have not seen for a long time. You have to scour their page to find that information. Of course, Dave would not need this information, as he just wants to see pictures. Preferably beach pictures, as Dave is an online predator.
Furthermore, none of my applications show up on my main profile page, either. You have to click another a tab to see those. I need people to see that I have added, but have never actively used, the New York Yankees, New York Giants, or New York Rangers fan applications. People will not be able to enjoy my LOLcats application. Before the switch it was a cat sticking her head through a window with a caption reading "I WATCH YOU UNDRESS." How will my Facebook friends know that I watch them undress? Now they'll have to look out their windows.
The old Facebook was fine. Everything was on one page. It was functional and enjoyable to use. Then out of nowhere it changes into something complicated and impossible to understand.
On the new Facebook, while my news feed stays the same, it's harder to see birthdays and events. It's tougher to see the groups people belong to or their educational information. If anything, the new Facebook makes it harder to keep in touch with people, which is the point of social networking.
Or just creepily staring at the pictures you uploaded from last Thursday night in a dark room breathing heavily - which is how Dave spends most of his Friday nights.