Introducing the New Profile
Today I'm excited to introduce you to some improvements we've made to the Facebook profile, so now it's even easier for you to tell your story and learn about your friends. — A New Introduction — The profile begins with a quick overview of basic information …
Context & Ripple Effects
This is Facebook's third major surface rebuild in four years, following the 2006 profile facelift and the 2009 home page redesign — each time reframing what the page is for. The 2010 move shifts emphasis from a static info sheet toward narrative: an overview section up top, then the profile framed explicitly as a way to 'tell your story.'
The rollout leaked ahead of schedule when The Next Web posted screenshots noting the new look was going live the next day, and pickup was broad for a design change — TechCrunch ran full details, while Stay N' Alive read one feature (list sharing) as a direct answer to Twitter's version. The redesign also lands amid unconfirmed reports of a Skype-partnered video chat object in Facebook's code and a rumored lease in Manhattan's ad district.
First-order effects
- Every Facebook user's profile changes layout within days, front-loading basic info into an introduction section and reorganizing photos and connections around storytelling rather than data fields.
- Early adopters bypass the staged rollout using workarounds published the same day by outlets like The Next Web, showing demand outruns Facebook's controlled release cadence.
Second-order effects
- Twitter faces a direct feature comparison on lists, as commentators judged Facebook's list-sharing implementation favorably against its own — pushing Twitter to defend the one surface where it led.
- Design bloggers and tutorial sites gain a traffic window: 'how to get the new profile now' content competes with Facebook's own announcement for attention during the transition.
Third-order effects
- If each redesign keeps moving the profile toward curated self-presentation, the profile consolidates as Facebook's primary identity and ad-targeting asset — consistent with the rumored Madison Avenue lease positioning it closer to advertisers.
- Redesign-by-announcement becomes the template for social platforms: ship a visual overhaul, let press coverage drive adoption, and treat user reaction as free distribution.
The trend: Social networks are converging on the profile as a narrative identity surface, with Facebook iterating fastest and rivals like Twitter forced to differentiate on features lists and real-time sharing.