40 Comments »This evening it appears that Facebook has launched the updated layout for groups which ironically is identical to Facebook Pages. While we haven’t yet confirmed whether or not published status updates to the feed will result in stories going to the feed, it appears that Pages and groups are in the process of merging. While not all settings on groups are the same as for Pages, they may soon be heading in that direction.
For the longest time there has been a discussion as to which product was better to use for organizing groups of users. There have been pros and cons of both and at this point there is very little remaining to differentiate one from the other. While Facebook has suggested that Pages are for people to organize around companies and individuals, the two products have been meshing together overtime.
Personally, I’ve spent the majority of my time focused on building our public Facebook Page and gave up on groups a long time ago. Many of my friends still use groups however. With groups and pages now sharing a similar design, it’s difficult to differentiate one from the other. Ultimately I vote for the death of groups, however a large number of users still use them. I’d argue that the separation of groups and Pages only adds to confusion.
As Facebook expands internationally, this minor distinction will be difficult to translate, as it’s difficult to articulate even in Facebook’s native language! We’ve considered writing guides about the differences between the two but in the end, I always recommend organizations use Pages over groups to promote themselves. The one benefit of using groups is that you can message people directly, however Page updates are now more prominently featured in the redesigned inbox.
It will be interesting to see if the two completely merge together. Do you think Facebook should eliminate groups all together? Do you see any reason to keep them?
Thanks to Ronald Reyes for tipping us off.
Update
The new design has been rolled back to the original version apparently. When we were first notified of the change, our groups had also changed to the new design however all of the groups now appear to be back to the old version. The company must be in the process of testing out the updated design. Either way, it looks just like Pages.
One thing I miss about pages is the ability to recieve notifications when something happens on the page
I really am looking forward to the day when this becomes a reality with Pages:
“While we haven’t yet confirmed whether or not published status updates to the feed will result in stories going to the feed.”
It’s difficult to keep up with what’s occurring on your Page Wall because their aren’t any notifications.
Thanks.
Jim Turner
This is such a waste of time. Death to groups!
I like this move, hopefully discussions will appear in notifications and feed.
They should merge
They absolutely should not merge. Groups fill the need of having limited membership.
Pages are for the case of clear ownership where content is driven by that owner. Groups are for the case of a community where content is driven by that community. While the difference isn’t large, and functionally they should be similar, there is a niche for both.
However, groups really need more complete notification settings. For the moment they are worthless for keeping a group of people organized and involved.
I have found pages are great for branding for an individual, business or company…. and groups are great for discussion around a topic that does not require connection to a particular brand or company…. a forum for like minded people to have discussion….
In saying that I have not been into a group for the longest time…. much prefer the simplicity of page updates….
I’m 100% with Eric on this.
But I agree that they ought to start merging their capabilities.
Page updates should go into the regular mailbox — either that, or the unread count should show both mail and updates.
Groups should be able to post to the stream.
Pages should be able to invite all fans to events. Groups can do this, but Pages can only create events and send out updates hoping that fans will add the event to their calendars.
i disagree that they should remove them.
i like this move, and i believe that it will help with some of facebooks current problems (fake pages)
pages should be for company’s and public figures and groups should be for the “i like pizza” stuff.
if they put the updates on the stream - it will also help me keep up with groups - instead of constantly receiving crap in my messages inbox!
What do you have to do to get your group to look like a Facebook Page? My group (Panama City, FL Bowlers) looks no different.
@Steven - i dont think its fully rolled out yet.
this layout hasn’t propagated to everyone yet, when i checked out the heathrow lounge group, it shows the old format.
This is lame. What about actual groups that have positive discussions, like sport’s groups? Turning them page-like takes away the simplicity of this.
I think they rolled it out then pulled it back. My group page change for about an hour or more then went back to how it was before.
There should always be a clear distinction between “groups” and “pages” on Facebook. It’s the difference between telling you something (pages) and having a conversation (groups). I believe it’s all the advertising on Facebook that has nearly made groups obsolete. Facebook needs to think outside of the box (er, wallet) again and invent something new for groups to reengage instead of lazily applying the page format to groups.
If pages could message people directly than there would be no space for groups. If they merge pages and groups, perfect!
i think it would be best for Facebook to eliminate groups and focus on optimizing the Fan Pages. It seems to be best for companies and celebrities to focus on one page, instead of have to different destinations for users to land on. And in the end if they are similar, y are both even needed.
i dont think its fully rolled out yet.
Gross. Facebook groups and pages should be two entirely different things, as they serve very different purposes. I really hope FB doesn’t get rid of groups.
Group or Page? “Remembering the death of… (family friend)”
Group or Page? “Adrian Peterson rocks!”
Group or Page? “Web designers in Florida”
As many have commented, Pages are for public sharing, Groups are for Community sharing. I know of many groups that would prefer to share their information only with registered members. Pages doesn’t support that level of privacy.
My hope is that Facebook continues to see the value of Groups and will enhance them (with this new page layout) to support Apps as well. One of the most requested features from our customers is to run our FundRazr app within their Group instead of on a Page.
I agree that having pages and groups as separate entities with many different rules–which are nowhere easily defined or compared–is confusing and cumbersome for most users. I welcome merging, IF the hybrid entity created includes ALL existing features and functionality of BOTH “parents.”
FB needs to add much more flexibility as well, to the finished product. Like the ability to choose whether to make it operate more like a listserv, with postings going directly to the user’s inbox.
The key here is to maximize configurability! I don’t understand why they haven’t done this. I still have to use listserves for the groups I manage, and it means having–and updating–both a FB page AND a Google groups page. Seems to me FB could increase its membership quite a lot if they were to attend to this important, unmet need.
Another gripe I have with Pages is the silly requirement to pigeonhole the purpose of the page into FB’s very limited categories. It’s taken me a while to learn the effect of this on the page manager: it forces the Info tab to conform to unnecessarily restrictive formatting. In one page I run, I’m unable to post ANYTHING relevant to the page on my Info tab. WTF? Does FB actually ask users what they need/want, or is this just some focus-group-tested product that fulfills almost no one’s special needs?
I agree with you. Groups need to go and have everyone utilize the Fan Page. There are many more opportunities and options through applications like FBML and connecting your Twitter and Fan Page together. And the importing of your Blog.
I always recommend a Fan Page to my clients. I belong to many groups but have noticed that the activity has significantly slowed down, I’m sure because of Pages.
Long live the Fan Page!
what if they made groups more fan page like with the privacy of a group, and styled to be more engaging to communities.
i personally think they should just kill off groups but i’m intrigued to see how they try to play this one out.
cool, i hope they do merge groups and pages together, it would be a lot simpler if they did!
New layout of groups is similar to fan pages. But i like it.
There are two fundamental problems with Groups; limited functionality and not being able to receive notifications.
Groups are great for activities and communities and our application “Groupsplus” delivers much more complete group experience than regular groups.
Well, if they merge pages and groups together, they must be planning on making it your choice as to whether you want to make it public like a page or optionally private like a group. Obviously?
Another difference between pages and groups as they exist today is that with pages, you are supposed to be an official representative of the person, company, or brand (under threat of getting banned by Facebook), and groups don’t have this requirement. But then you see pages (not groups) for “RSS” or “Celebs on Facebook” which to me are categories that would not really have an official representative. Fan pages are explicitly named as an example of what is not allowed except as a group. Once they have merged pages and groups, it seems they can do away with the requirement.
People who say groups should go aren’t obviously considering that there are non-commercial, non-profitable, non-businessOriented usages of Facebook. FB doesn’t want people to use Pages for things like “beach”, “love”, “democracy” etc. They would want Pages to be used by commercial entities for their business products.
Ok, at the moment they are not deleting all those pages unrelated to business, but they always keep repeating they should not exist.
If they should make this rule mandatory, how would people be allowed to create a non-businessRelated shared community?
I would still hope that FB doesn’t see us just as a bunch of single entities who only want to become fan of CocaCola, Amazon, Britney Spears, etc. but also as individuals who want to interact between themselves.
I think the main reason because I like to use Pages for things that are not strictly related to brands and products is that I become “fan” of a page, while I cannot become “fan” of a group, only subscribe to it. Ok, it’s quite silly, but it gives me much more satisfaction. I don’t know if it’s the same for other people, but I think a lot of individuals create Pages for immaterial things or for generic items just for the sake of seeing people becoming fans. If it would be allowed to become fan of a group, either as a separate function or as an alias to subscribing, I think groups would see more usage for noncommercial items.
I wonder if this will add to or detract from my group.
It is a Christian group aimed at young people that now has over half a thousand members most of whom are really involved in it, what with uploading photos and getting into the discussion boards and stuff.
Therefore the potential possibility that we will be able to update them often with status updates rather than sending out a newsletter-like message every few weeks will be great, and having the wall the focus of the profile will also be good. However having the page info and news an extra click away and not having previews of the discussion topics on the page will be a loss.
I’m undecided right now. I missed the temporary launch of the design the other day but my fellow admin said it was rather convenient, except that having to go to Info to view the number of group members wasn’t awesome.
We’ll see I guess!
I am very disappointed in the change they have made to the groups section. I currently run a support group for abuse survivors and there are many members that have come to depend on the group for support. Now with the way the layout has completely changed, it goes not look like a support group at all. Just people shooting the shit, like on our regular personal pages. Also, many of us do not want our friends reading our thoughts that we post to the group, but now when you post to the group, it goes in your personal page news feed for everyone in your friends to see. These friends are not connected to the group at all, and the group is a closed group so the content is private.
If anyone knows what I can do, or has any ideas to of still having a support group but maybe not on facebook anymore, please let me know. I really don’t want to be a part of facebook any more if they are going to keep changing things that makes it harder to use and less private etc.
i use groups much more than pages. i hated the new design because it is now difficult to see all the updates in the group main page. i do not want to click on a tab to see all the parts of the page. i do not like the facebook pages and i rarely use them. i used facebook group instead of a web site, now, i will have to get a website and leave facebook.
hey all, check my group/page. I really dont like the page look. I have a group with over 7000 members with a lot of wall talk. I think now people will stop writing. I just dont like how it looks.
This new layout sucks! i Had a group i would talk to friends on pretty frequently and now its hardly ever used. Make an option where you can view the old layout.
I absolutely disagree with those who feel we should get rid of the group pages. My group page is alive and thriving and my group members feel safe in posting their thoughts with other members of the group. Now not only is the page different but every wall post is being broadcast to the home page of all 2056 members of the group. The new design makes it difficult for updates. I hate it and i want it back to normal. Give those that want it an option. Obviously those who say death to groups, aren’t the ones using the groups.
Another Bigggg problem :
Ok..let’s try to work with the new interface … I had a majpr description area about a contest , when I tried to edit it the result was that this area shrank to ONE LINE !!!!!!!!
The videos I was uploading to the group are with no title…
How do I contact Facebook R&D ? I mean directly ? which page is the complains about real bugs…Not this kind of FAQ page….
The fact that there are only 31 responses to this blog suggests a huge amount of selective deletion has occurred. Facebook does not want feedback, does not offer assistance, is completely insensitive to the wishes of its users. It wants to own them, their stories, their photos, their videos, their experiences and their virtual essence.
I have a page. That’s me. That’s so my Mother can see what I’m doing, my friends can share their experiences with me and vice versa. It is a very personal and private page.
I also share an open group page with some colleagues. That is like a club. It is a public domain, not unlike a website, but so much more because everyone in the group (most of whom I don’t know personally) can contribute to and enjoy a sense of community.
The new layout does not allow that public disclosure. I have received dozens of messages from people who are incensed by the new format. One can’t update and therefore can’t evolve. Nobody can choose to visit the page and see clearly what is happening within the group.
I never use the ‘home’ page. It’s a waste of time- twitter with pictures. I don’t care to read random updates from my extended social network. If I want to know what Bill or Jean or Mohammed are up to, I’ll visit their profile page.
This is the beginning of a slow atrophy that will see Facebook relegated to a historical footnote much like Myspace.
Remember Myspace? Not really, huh?
There are good arguments on both sides here. But, I for one liked having a personal page which I use only to communicate with old and current friends and there weekly activities. The groups I choose to join or create are not related to my personal page except for the few friends who may want to join in the same causes. I now fear my friends will be forced to view news feeds from the groups I am involved in when I tried to keep it all separate.
Admin Facebook dear for Facebook’s user’s comfort and avoided baldness commented.. please layout group was returned in the form originally.. from all over the user group AKU CINTA KEBUMEN
How do you even send invitations to groups with this new layout? >.>
There use to be a link that you could see all status’s, just the status, and the same for photos from friends. I can see the photo link, but where is the status link.