8 Things you should know about Facebook Timeline
Timeline is coming, like it or not. Facebook will not give a date when Timeline becomes ‘non-optional’ for all but for some it already has and they will be rolling it out to everyone in the very near future. The Facebook Timeline changes the way that your Facebook profile is viewed with all of your updates, photos, friends being grouped into different dates as to when they happened.
Before you are forced into timeline, there are a few things that you should know.
What is a timeline?
A timeline is a coming together of your Profile and your Wall. It shows a timeline of your life in reverse chronological order. It shows a little like a Scrapbook of your life or a sort of Blog.
Once I have it, am I stuck with it?
You will not have the option to switch back to your normal profile view once timeline is enforced. You will be given warning and have a seven day period to view your old profile before you publish your timeline. This will give you the opportunity to view your Facebook Timeline privately before everyone else gets to see it. You should take a look at the timeline and its options in the slideshow that you will be offered the first time you vies your new timeline. You will be given the option to make any changes to your timeline before it goes live.
What will show on my Facebook Timeline?
Your Timeline will show your photos, status updates, friends, job history, relationship status and lots of other information from your profile.
What about my privacy?
We would advise that you look carefully at your timeline before you make it live and go back through your history of wall posts and pictures and use the option to ‘Hide post From Timeline’ or delete any unwanted posts altogether. This is a bit of a laborious task as there is no way of doing this in one go but it is something that you will need to do to ensure that something that you published 5 years ago and forgot about does not reappear on your timeline. Remember that ex boyfriend or girlfriend or THAT night out ;0)
Can I restrict who sees what?
Yes you can, in the same way that you do now on your wall and with your pictures. Each entry will have a drop down menu allowing you to make changes to your privacy settings.
When will Facebook force me to use my Facebook Timeline?
If you have not already had the request to change, you will have it in the next couple of weeks. The lovely people at Facebook are not being specific about who will be required to change and when.
Is Timeline better than Facebook Wall?
We believe that like anything else, you may dislike it because it’s not what you are used to and it is an enforced change. You may also have a little trouble finding your way around. On the upside it is actually quite a good way to show off your Facebook Wall and keep people informed. It can be used like your own personal website and if you have a business to promote with Social Media, it will do that very professionally. All in all, we would say that once you have made the necessary changes to what people will see, you will enjoy it.
What are the downsides?
It is not optional, you are forced to use it. You will also need a Facebook Cover Graphic that will be the big image at the top of your page. You can use any image for this but the size is a little odd and it may not display correctly. There are several places to get images from and you can use the Facebook Cover area to really customise your Facebook.
We hope this gives you an insight into the Timeline. Please leave us a comment if you have any questions or suggestions as to other points people should be aware of.
New WordPress Templates for Education
We have been working on creating a new WordPress Template Set for UK schools that would be fun for the pupils, easy to navigate for teachers and parents and put forward a good face for the school on the web. We offer all of our customers a choice of templates but we don’t limit them to ‘Off the Shelf’ options, we will help you design a template that will reflect your schools ethos and message and give you a unique online presence.
Easy WordPress Manual
Whilst this website was in the concept stage, I looked for an easy WordPress manual that I could distribute with every new site. I did find a few online but they were not up to date and didn’t have very clear instruction or pictures. I set about writing one to make available to all who need it for FREE.
I will endeavour to keep it up to date as and when WordPress core gets updated and reflect any changes to the Dashboard.
If you download it, I would be very grateful for your feedback or any additions that you may require.
Language is no Barrier
We have been working closely with a clothing chain in the Netherlands on 3 Websites. Although the language gave us a few extra hurdle to jump, it didn’t create any barriers. Using Skype with the client on a few occasions we were able to iron out any wrinkles that were ‘lost in translation’
The customer gave us a brief with several links to competitor websites in the Netherlands and said that he wanted a site ‘just like these’. We want to help you create your Website to stand out and although it is great to find out your expectations when it comes to your site, it is even better to surpass them.
The sites are ‘work in progress’ but feel free to take a look.
If you were ever unsure your website will attract new customers?
It will cost you less than an advert in a local newspaper to find out…
Once online and ‘Out There’ your site has the potential to be seen by MILLIONS of people – With the correct Targeted Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and the correct Social Strategy your site will get to the people who are looking for your goods, services or information. We are lucky in our generation that it is very inexpensive to be seen by the masses. Where do you go when you need information? Where do you go if you need an address or contact number? All generations, all demographics are using Google or the like to find information FAST and FIRST.
All this for the cost of a single newspaper advert that will be seen by a few people for a very short time.
Remember, today’s newspaper is tomorrows ‘chip wrapper’
