Facebook to Clear Clutter from Profiles

Posted on 22. May, 2008 by Sarthak K in Internet

If you’re a long-term and dedicated member of the ever-expanding Facebook community, chances are you’ve witnessed the gradual build up of profile clutter caused by masses of new applications and the spiralling popularity of the social network.

Thankfully, clutter days are numbered. Facebook is disclosing more details about the planned redesign for its core member profile pages, as it attempts to regain the layout’s orderly, streamlined look that had been one of its hallmarks and a differentiator from competitors like MySpace and Orkut.

Having nearly tripled its audience and added about 20,000 new applications over the past year, Facebook Inc.’s popular online hangout is about to undergo a housecleaning.

Visitors who can’t stand the clutter that’s been piling up will be glad to see that the site’s new look sweeps disparate bits of information into categories marked by tabs at the top of each user’s customized home page.

The latest plans in Facebook’s ongoing redesign efforts call for profile pages to evolve from a single repository of content and applications into a tabbed interface.

The goal is to let users organize in these tabbed sub-pages the various components of their profiles, such as the activity feed, photos, personal information and applications.

Facebook members can see the latest screenshots in this album

Despite the coming changes, which will appear in the next few weeks via an “opt-in” beta test rollout, Facebook is keen to stress that the final version of the profile overhaul will be influenced by subsequent feedback and comments gathered from those putting the new design through its paces.