Facebook Undergoing FaceLIFT

Facebook – the 750 million-user social media tool – became the hottest thing on the internet for a reason: It gave people what they wanted. Sticking to this age-old marketing technique, Facebook and its creators, designers and promoters have decided to continue giving users what they want by renovating the look and feel of the site.

Yes, Facebook is getting a facelift.

f8

Every year, Facebook holds an event in San Francisco, California known simply as f8. Headlined by a keynote speech from Facebook creator himself, Mark Zuckerberg, f8 seeks to bring together all the people responsible for the website’s operation and success.

Much like the keynote address given by Apple kingpin, Steve Jobs, f8 is meant to excite users, intimidate competition and inform bystanders.

It is here, on September 22, that the company expects to make some brave, perhaps startling, changes to the ever-growing force that is called Facebook.

Rumors and remedies

As f8 quickly approaches, everyone is predicting what new changes Facebook will make. Rumors are high regarding a possible redesign. These conclusions aren’t unfounded, considering all the tinkering and tailoring that has gone on this year.

Every day, it seems, users sign into their account and find that something has been changed. Most of these alterations have been small and beneficial, but they haven’t gone unnoticed. The old adage that people don’t like change isn’t absolutely true. People don’t mind change, so long as it isn’t too big or too often.

Constant tweaking, like what Facebook has been doing lately, throws up red flags. Fans step back and enemies begin to circle.

Evolution comes from competition

The technological world functions under a basic survival structure: Those that evolve survive; those that don’t, well, don’t. The greatest growth in any field has come about from competition. Facebook has plenty of it in Google+. The new social networking service could be a real player in a market Facebook has dominated.

Along with Google+, there still is Tumblr and Spotify, platforms that can offer things Facebook is just now trying to implement.

It seems clear what Facebook is trying to do: They want an all-in-one source for everything inquisitive, sharing people enjoy doing.

This year’s f8 conference may allow them to do it.

Fresh face, fresh “friends”

Facebook’s facelift is about more than just keeping current users happy. It’s also about bringing in new ones. The company has altered features in hopes of showing people that they are adapting to new needs.

But it’s in the media department – pictures, audio, video – where Facebook really wants to catch-up. If they can become the most trusted source for media sharing, the lead they have on the competition will probably never be closed.

No news yet

The exact details of what will be covered at f8 are unknown, though most sources keep coming back to the redesign angle, which would most likely include profile changes, as well as some new media sharing options.

As always, Facebook is keeping its mouth shut and its eyes open.

September 21, 2011