Oh, hey…I don’t know if you heard, but Facebook announced a slew of changes to the platform yesterday at the F8 conference. These updates will affect both individual users and marketers alike. As someone who falls into both categories, I wanted to understand the full affect of these changes IMMEDIATELY.
One of the most notable changes is way your profile will appear with the new Timeline feature. Timeline is a revamped and redesigned version of the Facebook Profile.
Say goodbye to your profile image and say hello to the Cover Image.
Mashable directed me to a quick and easy How-To Link: How To Enable the New Facebook Timeline . The process was mostly painless and took under 5 minutes to implement. FYI: The official Timeline’s launch won’t take place for a few weeks, but if you register as a developer on Facebook you can get access.
Once applied to my profile, I was asked to pick a Cover. The Cover image lives at the top portion of the timeline. And it’s huge. It’s a panoramic representation of your profile and the pressure is on, people. Do you want to convey your ironic sense of humor and choose to display that picture of a McDonald’s billboard under the Obesity PSA? Or do you want to showcase your growing family? Do you want to show off your amateur photography skills (insert macro shot of sunflower)? Whatever you choose, choose wisely because you have a lot of real estate to work with.
Personally, I played it safe: a scenic shot of the waterfront in Williamsburg. Check out that sick view of Manhattan from the pier. Am I subtly showing my love for my hometown? Or am I making a statement about how cool I must be for going to the land of the Hipsters? I leave that up to you to decide.
The Cover is just the tip of the iceberg. The Timeline is a visual history of everything you’ve ever done and recorded on Facebook. Photos, updates and events pulled from your Facebook history are automatically placed into your Timeline. You can even fill out the ‘Way Back” section and add photos and content from back in the pre–FB days. If you’re not shy about those naked baby pics, go ahead and post!
So which pictures are your top Cover contenders?