Facebook profile clean-up tool
Published by Rodney Rumford January 11th, 2008 in Facebook, Facebook Applications.
Clean up your facebook profile: It is just a tad early for spring cleaning, but it was just announced that facebook will soon be releasing a tool that will allow you to clean up your profile page. AHHH the application clutter will soon be gone on many profile pages. Profile pages sometimes end up looking like a cluttered desk. Hey, sometimes I like a cluttered desk, but some people are neat freaks. So all you profile neat freaks can rejoice.
Facebook’s Julie Zhuo stated: “Users are complaining that their own profiles are cluttered, and they have installed so many applications that it has become overwhelming to un-clutter it.”
It is my belief that one of the nice things about facebook is the simple user interface. I believe that this is a move to keep facebook from becoming like MySpace (cluttered & visually noisy). I actually think that this is a good long term move.
Here is the downside… Applications now have to compete to become one of a users favorite 12 applications to be on profile page 1. Yikes!
Users discover new facebook applications from their friends profile pages. Removing this could actually lower discovery of new applications via friends profile. I suspect that the percentage of people that discover & add apps this way is somewhere in the area of 10-15%. So apps owners jobs just got even more difficult.
The Facebook Application Profile Real Estate that potentially is getting wiped away (from page 1 of facebook profiles) might be as high as 50-70%. If you have an application that grows largely via profile discover; this is the equivalent of a hurricane ripping through and eliminating a large percentage of the real estate that you created. This is going to make many app owners very sad.
On the bright side I would suspect that people will actually add more applications in the long run. Users will just get more selective.
The tool will act similar to a cleanup tool that automatically will keep the Friends Box, Mini-Feed, Wall, Basic and Personal Information as well as the top 12 application boxes. At the bottom of the profile will then be a link to “Show Extended Profile”. Any user will be able to expand the profile at any point in time to see all the applications a user has added to their profile.
Facebook also said “we don’t want users to feel that these applications have somehow infringed on the simplicity of their Facebook experience”. Full facebook profile clean up details here.
UPDATE: Marhsall Kirkpatrick over at Read Write Web has some additional thoughts on the facebook profile clutter issue.
Technorati Tags: facebook, facebook profile, clean facebook profile
4 Responses to “Facebook profile clean-up tool”
- 1 Pingback on Jan 16th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
- 2 Pingback on Feb 26th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
- 3 Pingback on Oct 5th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I think this is 100% bullshit - as a user and a developer.
Users should avoid adding apps they don’t want to see in their profile, or at least disable the profile box. Moving apps to a “extended” page, that is only accessible via a link at the bottom, will have a significant affect on discovery and installs.
Looks like it’s time to finally develop that multi-platform app, because the Facebook Platform continues to become less and less effective.
Rather than limiting exposure to all apps, Facebook should spend more time stopping the shady Slide and RockYou apps.