NEW FACEBOOK CAUSING USERS TO WASTE EVEN MORE TIME
September 15 2008
Palo Alto, CA – The most recent revision of Facebook has caused an uproar on the social networking site. Groups protesting the new design have popped up all over the largest social network on the web, with one group titled ‘I hate the New Facebook’ reaching over one million members, many of whom are spending even more time on the site complaining.
“It’s fantastic that our users have such a passionate love for the site,” said a Facebook executive. “The new design was a necessary shift, both to keep the site fresh and vital, but also to allow for a greater level of interactivity and accessibility. We understand that there will be a level of frustration for some users especially as they adjust to the redesign, but we feel that the majority of our users will be able to adjust and will enjoy the new experience.”
Facebook launched the design in July but until recently gave users the opportunity to opt back to the original version of the site, but recently changed all users over to the new design, prompting the outrage.
“Most websites go through redesigns and this isn’t the first that Facebook has gone through. The number of complaints probably has more to do with the increased number of users rather than an actual greater level of frustration,” said Scrape TV technology analyst Ken Kevins. “Of course that means they create new pages, and spend more time on the site, therefore exposing themselves to more advertising. The basic model of any website is to have users visit multiple pages and spend time on them. The complaining users are actually making Facebook more money, so it’s been a win-win for them.”
Increased advertising is another part of the re-design that has irked certain users, most believing that ads are damaging the experience even further.
“It’s a quandary for websites of all sizes. Programming, design, maintenance, all those things cost money and access is free. The only way for them to make money is with advertising, yet users complain about that,” continued Kevins. “Ultimately as much as users complain the bulk of them will likely not abandon Facebook because where else are they going to do? Myspace? Not likely.”
With Facebook now the king of social networking, having stolen the user crown from Myspace earlier this year, it does seem unlikely that users will start to abandon the site en masse. In fact the user base seems to only be increasing which in turn will increase page views.
“The change was made to better our user’s experience,” continued the spokesperson. “The increased action on the pages is a side benefit. We’re not overly concerned about the possibility of users leaving. For those few that do, well whatever. Have fun on talking to people in real life losers.”
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