Admittedly, I was taking a nap when the f8 keynote with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg began to stream live this morning. (Thank you reversed sleeping schedule for this inconvenience.) However, I came in to the mix around the middle and let me tell you I was a little off-balanced by what was going on.
In a few weeks Facebook users will go through a complete overhaul of their current profiles. You thought the newest Facebook change where the Ticker (SIDEBAR OF DOOM) was introduced was a big deal? Thought maybe it was confusing and didn't know what to do with yourself? Well honey, better hold on tight. A few weeks from now and your tiny bubble of familiarity with your Facebook will be popped--your wall will no longer look anything like it did so go ahead and get all of your complaints out now. Instead of the format we've learned to accept will become much more visual and interactive. Facebook has given users the option to gear their Timelines in the direction they want by adding applications with one simple click.
They call it the Timeline. You will either love it or hate it, but it's what's happening so get ready.
Check out this video to see exactly what it is.
Speaking of applications, Facebook's second topic of discussion revolved around Apps. Music, movies, books, news and lifestyle apps have been made into the new class of social applications for Facebook. Go beyond simply liking things and participate in reading, watching and listening. These services will be integrated in FB. Basically let's say you're listening to some music on a site that is integrated. People can now see the song and artists you listen to real-time. It will show up on your Timeline also.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings joined Zuckerberg for the surprise announcement at the summit that Netflix will also be integrating social sharing with Facebook. Basically people can see what you watch, while you're watching it and what you have watched. This feature I do not like at all. I watch very random things and I don't need people seeing them. But I may not even have to worry about it because currently Netflix is caught up with an outmoded bill from 1988 called the Video Privacy Protection Act and has forbidden the "disclosure of one's video rental" information. Though, Facebook already had Netflix integration in 44 of 45 countries, minus America of course.
This may change if a bill called H.R. 2471 passes. Hastings said he believes that Congress looked at the bill today but the House legislative calendar had no H.R. 2471 on the docket so we'll see how that goes.
So there it is Facebookers. Get ready for some change and please don't make those WE WANT THE OLD FACEBOOK groups. Creating an anti-Facebook group of Facebook seems...stupid.
I'm not sure how I'll feel about the newest Facebook but I'm loyal enough to give it several tries.
Oh and by the way, the f8 Summit started off with Andy Samberg (SNL cast member who often portrays Mark Zuckerberg in skits) pretending to be Zuckerberg and opening with a joke about online identity. This clever stunt shows us that "hey, Facebook can be humorous" but to tell you the truth I would have loved it more had him and Zuckerberg burst out into "I'm on a Boat."
You can find TechCrunch.com's minutes here for more in-depth information.
Crazy stuff.
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