Pros and Cons to new Facebook layout

By Tim Priebe on February 22, 2010 at 5:04 pm in Social Networking

Over the last month or so, Facebook has been rolling out their redesigned site, with many key elements changing in an overall layout overhaul. I asked some of the T&S staff to let me know what they thought of the new Facebook layout, now that they’ve had some time to use it. Here are their thoughts:

Elyssa Dolinger

I think it’s usable, but I always hate how they change things without asking. Yeah, they’re not going to listen to me, but I’d at least like to be asked. I miss my little bar at the bottom! I know it’s on the side but there is so much stuff over there it’s cluttered. I also wish there was just a little bit better definition between sections, color-wise. It all gets mucked together which means I gloss over the link I’m looking for.

fb-1The thing that I actually really DO like in this change of layout is the little notifications next to the Facebook logo on the top left of the page. The three subtle icons representing friend requests, messages, and notifications get these little red flags on them when you have some. It’ll even have a tiny number in there telling you how many you have so you can know what you’re getting into before you commit to clicking.

Sean Sanders

fb-2I feel like the new layout is more organized. Having the bar on the bottom made it less noticeable than it is now. Also, I like seeing all the categories broken down on the side. It just seems a lot easier to get to different places now. That’s about all I’ve noticed that’s really different.

Amber Hanks

I really like the new design of Facebook. I think the simplified look works better. It took a little getting used to though. I also like that the friend requests and messages are more dynamic. I also like how notifications show up in the left sidebar when you’re logged in.

Unfortunately, chat still appears to be buggy when you have several chats going. It will say people are offline for just a second, and messages won’t go through. Then a moment later, they’re back online again. It’s too bad they didn’t fix some of those things.

fb-4

Emily Spirek

My initial reaction of the new layout was the opposite of most. Although Facebook has made some questionable updates in the past, I don’t understand why so many people disliked this one. I think the overall intention was a good one, but there still needs to be some improvements.

Here’s what I like:

  1. The dashboard with a more central location of everything you need.
  2. “Live Feed” changed to “Most Recent”…not a huge deal, just think it makes more sense.
  3. I love icons, mainly b/c they simplify everything and look cool. I like the addition of Friend Requests, Messages and Notifications in the top left.

fb-3Here’s what I’d like to see:

  1. Home, Profile and Account on the same side as the new icons I just mentioned, and turn those into icons as well.
  2. I’m not sure if they were refraining from total shock by keeping chat in the same location, but I don’t understand why the Friends Online needs to be in 2 separate locations. On the left sidebar where it says “See All”, it’s awkward how a pop up appears across the screen. I feel like the random choices of online friends is a waste of space. Either put the whole list in the left sidebar or stick with the original chat in the bottom right.

That’s all I see so far, overall I think it was a smart move by Facebook.

2009 non-profit website winners

By Emily Spirek on February 17, 2010 at 11:22 am in General

In 2009, we decided to give away a free custom website to a different non-profit group every month. We selected from a group applicants, all from the Edmond and Oklahoma City area.

We were so blessed to work with all of these organizations, and it was undoubtedly a rewarding experience. Thanks to all of the non-profit winners, and we hope your new websites have aided towards the success of your organizations!

Please check out the sites below and learn about what these people are doing for the community.

2009 Winners:

January:

screenshot-emm

http://edmondmobilemeals.org/

February:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102116-am

http://www.dsok.net/

March:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102135-am
http://oklahomawomenscoalition.com/

April:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-104417-am

http://teenempower.org

May:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102201-am
http://www.vipofok.com/

June:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102216-am

http://www.edmondlacrosse.com/

July:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102258-am

http://www.edmondkids.org/

August:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-113130-am
(pending publication)

September:

N/A
(Unfortunately, the non-profit we selected for September
did not have the time available to develop a site with us)

October:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102315-am

http://www.chosenokc.org/

November:

Wayman Tisdale Foundation

(pending – awaiting confirmation)

December:

Oklahoma Foundation for the Disabled

(pending – awaiting confirmation)

Update: More detailed entries about each non-profit are soon to come!

Twitter isn’t so scary

By Elyssa Dolinger on February 10, 2010 at 6:44 pm in Social Networking

Twitter isn’t exactly new. People have been using, abusing and even making a living off of Twitter since it’s inception in 2006. In an instantaneous world, four years might as well be a million. It’s like an art form that I all-of-a-sudden need to know and I’m not even sure why. There are Twitter experts and then…there are people like me.

tweettrans

Hi. My name is Elyssa and I am Tweet-impaired.

The first step to using Twitter, I think, is to understand what it is. Twitter is like a Facebook status update. It’s like blogging in 140 characters. It’s like swimming in a pool of millions of people or stepping into a chat room with everyone in the world invited. It is like all those things, but not exactly any one of them. Twitter is Twitter.

So why is it useful?

It’s real time, instant action. You can follow the news not only by following a news station, but you can search for a topic and get real time information. Remember the attempted Iranian Revolution? As a fledgling twitterer, I watched with morbid fascination as people tweeted and re-tweeted which embassies were open, what streets were not safe and quotes of remembrance about why they were doing what they were doing.

People use Twitter like a community. It’s faster than a forum, and doesn’t require everyone to be present at once to hold a conversation like a chat or instant message. It’s a happy in-betweener. Like leaving a note for someone or sending a text message.

Businesses use Twitter to prove that they’re not robots. When you get a response from a large corporation, a non generic direct response, you’ll definitely start to feel important. @jetblue and @homedepot are actually pretty good at this.

So what can you do with it?

Make it easy to succeed. There are programs out there (like HootSuite, TweetDeck, or Twhirl) that make Twitter less overwhelming and more manageable. These applications will even let you load your Facebook on there (and other social sites) for cross posting…if you’re into that kind of thing. You can even use these applications to search twitter so that you can look for conversations that you might be interested in, or you might even find a conversation about you or your business.

Keep it short and sweet. You can post links/photos/videos you found useful or interesting in your community or even in the world. This is best done with the help of a URL shortening service like TinyURL or Bit.ly. It’ll help tidy up your tweets so that you can explain your link. People like to know what they are clicking into before hand, especially if they are at work.

Use your hashtags. As mind-boggling as they are, hashtags help tweeters follow a thread of conversation and discussion trends. It’s similar to tags on a blog. If you use them, it’ll help more people who are interested see what you have to say.

Yeah, I know. I’m late to the party. And I still feel like a fledgling Tweeter, but somehow Twitter is a little bit more understandable. Like any social media, the most important part is making connections. So get out there and make some friends.