Facebook: New is the New Old

It is the most important point of progress of the moment.

It is a game changer.

It is a life changer.

And it is one of the most talked about things in the world today…

The New Facebook Profile. Or as I like to call it, the Old Facebook Profile. Yeah, I’m ahead of the times like that.

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Quite honestly, I didn’t intend to make the switch. But, wrestling with progress is not an easy task. Even if you win, you are punished with exclusion. So, I clicked the switch, and now can drink from the same water fountain as everyone else.

Which leads me to believe there must be something in that water.

What is it that makes us crave this change to the point that we don’t just want it, but we need it? What is it that makes this change in computer code not only drive the news, but headline it too? What is it that actually makes me write an article on this non-story?

It is that dangling carrot.

FB has now reached 500,000,000 citizens.

The symbol of hope that comes with change. Hope for something more. Hope for something better…
Hope for the leader of the third largest country in the world, to become the leader of the world’s largest country.

The country that is Facebook, led by Mark Zuckerberg.

Of course, Zuckerberg, may say otherwise. He simply feels the site’s new design makes it easier for you to tell your story and learn about your friends.

He’s also a genius who has figured out the way to build a country without any land, by the click of a mouse. So even though, things may seem simple when it comes to Zuckerberg, you know there is more to the (non-)story than meets the Face.

With this “improved” layout, there is a short summary of your personal information and a small collection of photos. Previously, these were kept on separate tabs.

Once you choose to accept the new design, there is no going back. (Though some users claim they have found that Facehole.) And eventually, everyone’s profile will change over, whether wanted or not.

Some people like the new profile. Others, including me, don’t. It seems messier, the order feels awkward, and at once, divulges more information and less information than I would like.

But that doesn’t matter. Because the social network will change again, and maybe next time I will like it, or at least, in time, get used to it.

The bottom line is, Facebook cannot stay the same. As much as you (meaning “I”) may whine and complain about the new design, there would not be a Facebook if it never changed.

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New: The new old, or old new, as it were.

Facebook is a country that runs on three moving parts: Ego, boredom, and technology.

Without ego, nobody would care to display his or her person, nobody would care to be seen or heard, and nobody would care to creep other “friends’” profiles to monitor their successes or lack thereof.

Without boredom, nobody would use the social network to such an extent. (Aren’t I right, procrastinators and government workers?)

And you cannot have technology without change. Facebook must be dynamic. If it never changed, it would stop moving and implode.

Look, although Microsoft Windows has, at times, worsened with innovation, it probably would have been worse off without it. And hey, even when New Coke reverted to its predecessor, it still changed its name from Coke to Coke Classic.

These days, whether or not things actually evolve, there must be evolution, because without change things don’t just stay the same. They die.

So go ahead, and choose the new Facebook profile, or not. It doesn’t matter. Ultimately, it will choose you.

But, please, don’t let it consume you or the headlines. As great a change as this may be, it doesn’t change your life, it only changes your profile.

If only people had the same desire to fight social injustices as they do to fight social network injustices...

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