Facebook testing single column Timeline design

Of all the changes that Facebook did to its appearance this year, the Timeline has been the most striking. Now, even as many continue to acclimatise themselves to the new look, Facebook may change the design of the Timeline.  Inside Facebook now reports that the social networking giant is currently testing a new layout design, wherein all posts will be visible in a single column on the left, while all activity indicators will be moved to a column on the right. 

Facebook is testing a new Timeline design - a single column!

If this design sees the light of day, users will be able to view all the posts in a single, vertical stream, instead of the current design that prods users to keep switching from right to left to view posts. As per Inside Facebook, the new design omits the line at the centre. The column with the dates, i.e., the Timeline can be viewed at the top right of the page. Those in Facebook’s test group have been spotting wider posts. “Modules like “Recent Activity,” “Friends,” “Places” and those for any Open Graph apps are all to the right, similar to how they are on the original Timeline. The difference in this design is that these modules are no longer the same size as posts, and when there are no more modules to show, the Timeline appears blank rather than filling in with status updates or wall posts,” adds the post.  

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Timeline essentially allows users to view their lives as on Facebook in chronological order, dotted with pictures, posts, videos and all. All the events in the life of the user, and the content he or she has posted, right from the date of creating the profile, is neatly arranged in chronological order, as if telling a story.

When the Timeline was introduced, not all users liked the idea of adopting the Timeline and sure enough, this compulsory transition is bound to face stiff resistance. The Telegraph quoted one user as saying, “I’m sorry but this is rubbish. I’m surprised Facebook hasn’t included a compulsory DNA profile section (default to public obviously).”

Late in January this year, there were similar reports about Facebook giving users a week’s time to make the scheduled switch from their old profiles to the one with the Timeline. At the time, we had cited an official blog post by Paul McDonald on The Facebook blog. In his post, he had said, “Last year we introduced timeline, a new kind of profile that lets you highlight the photos, posts and life events that help you tell your story. Over the next few weeks, everyone will get timeline. When you get timeline, you’ll have 7 days to preview what’s there now. This gives you a chance to add or hide whatever you want before anyone else sees it.”