4 Comments »This evening Facebook stopped redirecting users to the URL www.new.facebook.com and has begun redirecting all users to the default www.facebook.com. The result is that the old design appears to be no longer accessible. The change in URLs has resulted in some applications breaking over the past 24 hours but most of those issues appear to be resolved.
While there will most likely continue to be small issues due to the shift, we expect the entire shift to be finalized within the next 24 to 48 hours. While Facebook still has enabled the temporary URLs under the www.new to function as usual, users are now redirected to the default Facebook URL upon login. We are not sure if Facebook will continue to use the www.new prefix for URLs or if they will choose to use a standard 301 redirect and deprecate the prefix in the coming weeks.
While the revolts against the new profile design have amounted to millions, no single group has appeared to surpass the 3 million user mark. While substantial, it still represents less than 2 percent of users on the site. No matter what, Facebook will not let users revert to the old design. I guess this news means it’s time to officially welcome all users to the new Facebook!
As an avid user and one of the fastest growing Facebook developers we applaud the new design, I personally think ti will take Facebook to the next level.
Kevin
New design sucks. It is difficult to read, information is hidden all over the place. Mostly it was done to create room for more spam. They need to change it back. But, I know how this will work.
I think the revolt will fizzle away. People should be more concerned about the economy, environment and who the next president/prime minister/etc should be.
As senior manager at a medium-sized software company, I can tell you for every 1 negative comment you receive regarding your code there are 100 more you never see. When one does that math on the number of users who have voiced their disapproval a more accurate picture of discontent emerges.
Facebook represents new thinking in social networking, but the old rules still apply. Make your customers happy. It's somewhat foolish to minimize or downplay the intensity of user complaints with any new offering. To do so is to invite an exodus.
I user and like Facebook very much. But, I would recommend they heed the warnings of their users. In the words of The Kinks - “Give the People What They Want.”