Facebook has launched their new Timeline feature to the world this week. Much
attention has focused on the improved look and feel of the user
interface, particularly the large cover photo that now
dominates a Facebook profile.
But much less attention has been paid to the more interesting
aspect of the Timeline – the ability to move back in time
to any point and see what the user was doing at that time. In
effect, Facebook has created an open diary because you can go back
in time on your friend's profile to see what they were posting
on the system last year – or even on a specific date.
This is an interesting development, not least for those
interested in privacy. It used to be that you updated your Facebook
and as the update dropped off the screen because new ones replaced
it, that would then be lost forever. Now users can move back and
forth in time examining every little post you made.
