Customize Your Facebook Timeline
Like it or not, Facebook’s Timeline is here to stay. The reaction to the social media giant’s new interface has been met with mixed reviews. It may have not had the public reception Facebook expected; but those that now use it have accepted the inevitable change, while those that would have preferred things to say the same are trying to hold on to their current design as long as possible. However, soon enough, Timeline will eventually find its way to their page.
Timeline Review
At Mediaura, we have been experimenting with the new design since it was announced at last year’s F8 Tech Conference. As we sat listening to Mark Zuckerberg discuss all of the exciting changes coming to Facebook, there were many things we loved (i.e. the Spotify integration) and there were other aspects that made us a little more hesitant (see: Timeline). Yet we opted to reserve our judgment until it became available for developers to experiment with and try out. Much like us, the developer (and user) feedback has been almost universal. The benefit of Timeline is that it allows you to get information about a person at a quick glance. Almost everyone has been thrilled with the customizable aspects of Timeline because anytime you give users the opportunity to express their creativity, amazing things usually happen. Graphic designers were undoubtedly the first to embrace the new template, and a quick Google search will send you to many websites showcasing some of their finest work. And I highly recommend you do so because many of them are quite impressive.
However, below that top section, things get a little tricky. There seems to be no real rhyme or reason to how information is displayed. Is it the most recent? The most popular? Sometimes it varies. Do I really need to know what a casual acquaintance was doing on May 12, 1999? Probably not. But it can also be nice to see where I was three years ago in my life versus where I am today. Is the constant update in the chat bar window a good idea or is it just cluttering up my Facebook page? Now you can start to see why the reviews have been mixed.
Customize The Template
But as I said, we all are thrilled with the ability to make our pages a little more unique. The ability to assign a “cover” image gives your page a little more personality and can set the tone for what the reader may learn below. If you’re a photographer, perhaps you’d like to show off your work. A musician? Showcase your band. There really is no limit except your imagination and the dimension of the space.
We have created a blank template for you to use in order to begin working on your own design. The grey box is where your default Facebook profile image will appear, and the white area is yours to Photoshop until your heart’s content!
Download the template file here.
Feel free to share whatever great designs you come up with at our Facebook page.
In the meantime, we’ll be waiting to see what other tricks Facebook has up its sleeve.
