SherWeb

Changes are scary. Changes on Facebook (for some) are even scarier. It seems like anytime Facebook makes a change people react as if they’ve just watched a really bad, 3D remake of The Exorcist and are going to sue the theaters for allowing such a film to exist. People just get angry or vent about it, when in reality, the changes are for the better. Believe it or not but this new Timeline is an amazing opportunity for you to customize and control your profile.

Over the last week millions of articles have come out about Facebook Timeline. Some have been rather nasty about the changes, most have focused on what this means for brands and marketers, and others have shown you cool examples of what you can do with your Timeline. Out of all these opinions only one of them seems to be excited for you as a person (not as brand or a marketer), and that’s Facebook.  Let’s take a closer look at this…

Timeline Let’s You Look Good

source: mashable.com

It’s true. The new Timeline profile allows you to choose how your Facebook Friends perceive your life via Facebook. You can virtually pinpoint the best parts of your life to visually brag about – new/old jobs, new friends, great pictures…and the list goes on. Like your very own online CRM except the only customer you’re managing is yourself. You literally get to organically BRAND yourself the way you want. It’s all under your control.

This makes some people panic because, well, let’s all admit that at least once or twice we may have done some bad Facebooking. Don’t sweat it though because you can choose to hide or delete certain Facebook posts/videos/comments. You can also go through your Activity Log and delete anything you don’t want to share.

Creative Expression

source: pcauthority.com.au

Remember a couple of months ago when Facebook added the profile banner, and all of sudden you could be more visually expressive on your profile? It was pretty neat. Think of the Timeline like this: you get to create who you are to exact facts, pictures and videos.

Timeline gives you the opportunity to feature the very best of you and your personality. Your favourite video? Make it a feature on the Timeline. That job promotion? Feature. That great picture of you that you’re friend took while you were traveling around Europe? FEATURE! Every great moment, thought, expression can now be enhanced and brought to the forefront, and all those ‘not-so-proud’ moments…they can be hidden. POOF! Facebook magic!

Timeline is your Lifeline

source: mashable.com

Yes it’s true; the Timeline goes all the way back to your date of birth. You can choose to upload a picture of yourself as a child or not. Think about the Timeline as a virtual scrapbook. All your best memories or moments that you want to share with your friends, family and coworkers are right there, organized the way you want.

I can understand if this seems ‘creepy’ to some people, but is it not the same as whipping out that scrapbook in person? The number one common sense rule that has been a rule from day one is: if you don’t want someone to see what you’re doing on Facebook don’t add them as a friend. On that note…

One of the biggest debates about the Timeline is that it increases the opportunity for your Facebook friends/stalkers to “creep” your profile. My answer to that is: delete them off from your friends or change your settings. There will always be the issue of “stalking” or “creeping” on Facebook, yet it’s you who chooses to allow it to happen. Remove the people you don’t want on your Facebook. It’s good to do a “Facebook cleanse” every couple of months to make sure you’re in control of who you’re connecting with.

Whether it’s in the virtual world or the ‘real’ world, you choose who you connect with. You also get to choose what you display online and what you talk about in person. Changes on Facebook are inevitable. How you choose to approach the changes, is up to you. I think this is great opportunity for us to redefine our virtual reputations. So, go ahead…make your Timeline the best it can be!