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Facebook Home Page Getting a Major Update Next Week

by Terrence O'Brien on March 5, 2009 at 07:05 AM

Facebook Home Page Getting a Major Update Next Week

The only way to stay ahead in this Internet game is to be constantly evolving. You need to be faster, more mobile, and more flexible than your competition. That's how Google dominates search and Web mail, how Twitter pummels its micro-blogging competitors, and how Facebook has overtaken MySpace.

Facebook knows that its position at the top of the social networking heap is precarious. So, only a few months after undertaking a major redesign, Facebook is bringing some more new hotness to its home page. The news feed that appears on the main page when you log in will soon be replaced with a live feed view that will update in real-time as your friends change their status, add photos, or do anything else. For those who are staring at that last sentence in horror, don't worry; the new home page will also feature powerful filtering tools that will allow you to block content from particular apps, or users, entirely.

At the top of the page will be a new publishing tool, allowing you to post pictures, status updates, links, and almost anything else that your heart desires, without ever having to leave the new hub.

Facebook 'pages' will also be updated to make them more like regular profiles, complete with status updates, which might be an interesting way for companies like CNN to keep people abreast of current events.

We're looking forward to the changes, which should be going live next week. [From: Download Squad]

Losing Face on Facebook

    Facebook is going to rewrite the book on standard office excuses, at least for its shortsighted users. Kevin Colvin, an intern at Anglo Irish bank, thought that had an ironclad story when he asked off to attend to a "family emergency." When his boss was alerted to this fresh picture posted to his Facebook profile during his absence, that story lost just a tad of its believability -- unless he was curing Aunt Hattie with his magical powers and a potent hoppy elixir. We're sure that posting the picture seemed like a good idea at the time, Kevin, but you were sadly mistaken. Same goes for that costume.

    Students at Glen Ridge High School in New Jersey were shocked and confused when the news trucks rolled up to get the scoop on a set of Facebook photos. Obtained by a nosy parent, the pictures featured underage drinking that led to the suspension of school athletes. Many saw the role of the photos in the punishments as legally questionable, but despite organized protests and other umbrage, many students opted to just take their own racy Facebook pictures down as soon as possible. Live and learn, everyone -- just don't post visual evidence of it happening on your profile.

    Even the charmed lives of beauty queens can be dragged through the mud by Facebook photos taken far away from the pageant stage. Miss New Jersey Amy Polumbo discovered this firsthand over the summer when she was the target of a strange "blackmail plot" centered on profile images of her partying and carrying on in a less than royal fashion. She ended up releasing the photos herself, and soon everyone was wondering what the fuss was all about -- from venture capitalists to gossip reporters, Facebook has a tendency to get people riled up.

    Thinking about shoplifting some clothing? Here's a tip -- think twice before posting pictures of yourself modeling the hot merchandise on Facebook. Two students at Radford University in Virginia learned this lesson the hard way when a store owner was tipped off and found the incriminating images on Facebook. A stroke of the 'print' button, a trip to the police office, and the bust was complete.

    This story -- women who show little discretion in their alcohol consumption and even less when documenting their misadventures on their profiles -- seems to have started the most recent wave of Facebook embarrassments. While it's difficult for many to understand the personal pride and motivation behind such excess, it's even more mind-boggling to know that these exploits are being glorified online for all to see. Mom must be proud, and potential employers are surely beating down the doors.


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Tags: facebook, facebook update, FacebookUpdate, social networking, SocialNetworking, top, update, updates

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