Make the most of Timeline

Facebook Timeline will soon be compulsory for all users of the popular social networking site. This change has been a hot topic of discussion amongst regular Facebookers and for a variety of reasons it seems that the majority are against it.

Up until now, Timeline has been optional and you may have noticed that some of your friends have already made the switch. The most obvious change is the home screen. It has been described as having more of a “magazine” look to it and this is highlighted by the more dominant use of pictures on the profile page. In fact, the first thing you’ll probably see is a large masthead photo that dominates the top of the page. But this change is just the tip of the iceberg.

The major functionality of Timeline is that it provides much easier access to all of your previous activity on Facebook. For many people this could present an issue. Not that we all have chequered pasts but there will be plenty of people who would like to hide a previous relationship, remove an embarrassing photo or delete a silly status update. The good news is that when you change to Timeline you have a seven day grace period where you can clean up anything that you would prefer others not to see. During those seven days you are the only person who can view the new version of your profile page. Once you’ve cleaned up your act, you can make the page live by clicking the “Publish Now” button at the top of your screen. If not, it will automatically go live at the end of the seven days.

If you want to switch to Timeline before the compulsory changeover it is quite simple and only takes about 5-10 minutes. After watching Facebook’s video about Timeline, you should see a button that says “Get Timeline”. From there you just follow the prompts. Once you have made the change, you can also get a virtual tour of your new page. This is quite useful as it helps you to better understand the new format of your profile.

One of the first decisions you can make is which image to have as your cover photo. This takes up a much larger space than the old profile pic so make sure you choose a high resolution image that you feel represents you and your lifestyle the best. This will help to set the theme of your homepage and also allows you to be a bit creative and make a more personalised page than the old format.

If you want to clean up your page before it goes live this is fairly simple. You just need to find the offending photo, status or piece of information you wish to remove. Then:

• hold the mouse cursor over the top right hand corner of the speech bubble containing the item

• click on the icon that says ‘Edit or Remove’

• choose the relevant option.

While that step is easy, the whole process could be fairly time consuming if you want to remove a lot of things.

Another contentious aspect of Timeline is that it increases how much of your profile that the general public can see. For many people this is a serious concern. To see how much of your profile page a stranger can see, simply:

• click on the small gear icon that is just below the right corner of your new cover photo

• select the ‘View As…’ option

• select the option that allows you to view the page as a member of the public could.

Most people will only want their past posts to be viewed by friends. If this is what you want, you should:

• click on the small arrow on the top right hand corner of your profile page

• go to ‘Privacy Settings’

• select ‘Limit the Audience for Past Posts’

• choose ‘Manage Past Post Visibility’

• click ‘Limit Old Posts’.

These are just a few tips but it is always worth reading the Facebook privacy policies. Also refer to your own privacy settings so you can customise them to your needs. Privacy settings can be found by clicking the small arrow on the top right hand corner of your page on both versions of Facebook.

Will this change affect your opinion on Facebook? Will you use it less? How concerned are you about your online privacy? Do you have any tips?

For more information on the change see our article on Timeline.