The New Facebook Timeline Format. They’re popping up everywhere in your friends facebook… it’s the new look and features offered in “Timeline”. As far as I can tell right now, your “home page” will look the same, no doubt a temporary thing, and the big change is on your “wall’ … the New Timeline. Looks kinda neat and has some new features. There’s the new banner type photo that goes on the top of your wall… a big photo that goes side to side to offer a first impression. The layout has easy to reach functions that take you to key features of your wall with just a “click”. BTW… this format goes live for everyone come Feb 1st… so you might as well start it now to get use to it.
The new “timeline” format kinda works like the old format in that newest entries are at the top and going down the list leads to older entries. The new timeline feature will give access to earlier months or even years with a mere “click”… rather then endless scrolling down. You can still control what and how things are posted and it seems that all your previous controls have been brought forward to the new format. You just have to watch CLOSELY when you click on “post” to select who will see the new posting. Looks like default is set to “public”… so you will have to change it to “friends” if you want some privacy (if there really is such a thing).
Note: for security reasons, or just to try to avoid making myself a target for what ever evil doers or conspiracies are looking & watching… I keep my posts for only about two weeks… I delete all the older entries as I add new ones. Couldn’t see any use for keeping endless backdated entries going back “forever” for anyone that can hack the controls to have access to. The new timeline format worries me in that it allows very easy and quick access to posting history via the timeline… and the maps give even more information about times and places.
Another neat feature is the “Map”… you can select a location where you were born, lived, visited or traveled to on the map… add dates, a photo, and a summary or comments about the location. Your lifelong timeline at a glance… just be careful what and how much you share. BTW… be careful how you select a location… it may be a business that also includes that businesses link and info attached right to your map entry. Not sure about you… but I really don’t want to advertise businesses on my Fb map… especially places that I never patronized. But there’s the crux… it this another way for Facebook to inadvertently get you to pass on ads for businesses and they get revenues for the extra advertising on your personal facebook? Who knows? Conspiracy of sorts… yes… like everything else. Also funny how easy it is to add things or post things… then it’s more difficult to remove it later… or maybe that’s just me.
Now… here’s the “catch”. Even though you have so called controls on who can see your profile info and wall… I really wouldn’t count on total privacy. So as I have mentioned before… keep your personal information off of your home page as much as you can. Do not publish your full name, address, phone numbers, email addresses, or personal family information that you do not want available to the public. IF YOU WOULDN’T WANT IT PUBLIC… DON’T POST IT! Identity theft aside… who knows what ill could come from sharing too much info with the public. Just as a side note… lots of people have been fired, not promoted, or not hired because of things they post on their Facebook wall. Companies hire researchers (and hackers) to get information on you… good stuff, bad stuff, personal stuff, that gives them more information about you then might be beneficial… your views, your emotional and mental attitudes and beliefs, emotional stability, social interactions, medical information, religious views, political views, and your lifestyle… all of which can be used to develop a personality profile on you. All those bits and pieces that combined “paint” a picture of you as a person… maybe an accurate picture, maybe not… maybe beneficial, maybe not… but certainly the information, good or bad, could be used by “others” for many different reasons which may not be in your best interest. An old saying… “Everything is a conspiracy” … well… it’s true… everything is a conspiracy in some form or another, and in some degree or another. Too many people “vent” momentary emotional stresses on facebook… and on the surface, all those bits and pieces as they say… will come back to bit you in the arse. So it’s “poster – beware”! We know lots of people that either won’t have a facebook page, won’t post things, or have closed their personal facebook down for personal or security reasons. Might be a good idea if you don’t or can’t control yourself and what you post… it could turn out that you could be your own worse enemy.
Well, enough said about that. Watch what you post, what you share… because you never know where that info is going, or how it will be used. Happy Facebooking and Blogging. Enjoy the new Timeline format… just be careful. Me? … an old retired guy… hey, who cares about my info… but I’m still very careful anyway… or at least think I am. If nothing else… I figure that the info I post is so minor that the evil doers will have plenty of other easier targets then me.
Disclaimer: As always… this is just my personal views on what I currently know or feel. I am not the definitive answer on extensive research and analysis of the topic… just an old retired guy that enjoys sharing thoughts and things with others.
Now here’s the ultimate conspiracy: Big Brother… aka, the U.S.Government, helped develop and has control and access to all facebook information about all of us. They have unrestricted and total access to everything… yes, everything that you post… available to them for analysis, tracking, and profiling everyone of us. Kinda like with the show “Person of Interest”… big brother sees everything! Conspiracy phobia? What do you think? Do you really think the government spends untold billions on secret projects and doesn’t or can’t do this? They are probably watching you me right now! … Hello….
