Minnesota, USA -August 29, 2011 - Like many others, I received a 'Message: New Facebook Page' on my phone since I have a mobile app. Waiting for it to start for days, it was extra exciting to get the update immediately when the 'friends' and 'places' feature hit! Even though I had insider information, it is still different to 'experience' the change than hear information about it. Facebook gracefully transformed to a 'location based' service in a way in which most Facebook users will not complain. However, there are a few 'glitches' that were already fixed since its recent debut.

 

Last night was the first time that I posted a new status on the new page using the web browser; surprisingly when I viewed the message closely later, I noticed that it put my location as 'near (city name)'.  Without my knowledge, it inserted my location using my IP address - no doubt. However, I updated my status again today and it did not happen. Perhaps it was simply a one-time glitch or a mistake that Facebook noticed in its default privacy settings that it changed to make its users more comfortable. After all, who wants to look at a status and realize that the nearby location is available for everyone to see They may be friends, but we do not want our friends to know everything all the time.

 

As I watch my Facebook Feed, I can see the excitement that everyone feels over their ability to reveal their 'place', 'friends', and current activities; the silliest of status updates and photos appear as everyone feels comfortable in making this activity monitoring 'fun'. Facebook did not add this feature for everyone to be serious; people are revealing their locations and friends that are there, so everything else is up to the users. Post a status like, "Having a bomb and getting overly stuffed with (friend's name) at the Mn State Fair" if you choose; the more colorful the status, the more entertaining it is for your friends!

Undoubtedly Facebook is pleased that its users are adjusting so well to the new page. Sadly this was not the case with the IM; users are still complaining about it and refusing to use it. This is definitely evident by seeing that nearly no one is appearing 'online'; rarely I will see one or two friends who appear online but this does not compare to the 20-40 friends that I used to see on a regular basis upon logging in. Perhaps Facebook users switched over to Skype or other means; if this is the case, Facebook may have a difficult time getting them back into the 'messenger' part of Facebook.

Since users are quickly latching on to the new Facebook page, its other features may have some hope. Obviously this is not the only change that Facebook has in the works; it will not be long and something else will possibly make the users experience even better. Stay tuned!