If you have a Facebook account that you log into regularly, then surely you've seen the changes that have rolled out. If you're like the vocal people in my news feed, you hate every single one of them.

These changes seem to be more drastic than those in recent memory, and so far I've had a bit of trouble adapting to them, too. But what I find amusing is comments like this one, which was posted on Facebook's f8 page by user Gariné Koujaian:

I suggest facebook should stop making changes and go back to it's original ways unless they want everyone to just stop using facebook and go to google +. Facebook is getting out of hand!!!!

Oh, Facebook's original ways.

I remember Facebook's original ways - or at least their ways from seven(!) years ago when I signed up for a Facebook account. My oh my, how things have changed since then.

In fall 2004, it wasn't Facebook. It was Thefacebook. And this is what the login screen looked like:

And here is what your profile looked like:

You could only have an account if you had a .edu email address.

You could only post one picture, and it was your profile picture. There were no albums of profile pictures, so if you changed your profile picture, the other one disappeared. It wasn't until Halloween weekend 2004 that you could post photo albums, which I remember well because I attend Ohio University at the time, and surely you've heard about the annual Halloween party in Athens.

The wall used to be a small box in the lower right corner of your profile that anyone could type in. You had to hover your mouse over the text on the wall to see who wrote what.

There was no "Like" button, no sharing, no chat. (But as long as I have been a member, there has been poking.)

I remember one major update to the profile layout that involved being able to drag and drop boxes wherever you wanted them. Each of the boxes were apps created by outside developers. I had one in my profile that included a random bunny picture. It was adorable.

Facebook has been evolving a lot into what it is today, and it will continue to evolve as long as it exists. In fact, more changes will be announced today, when the annual f8 conference for developers opens in San Francisco. You can tune in to the live stream - beginning at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time - below:


A possible change to Facebook that was leaked: "Listen with your friend". A post on Tech Crunch last night summarized that you can listen to what your friends are listening to at the same time. Neat concept, though I'm very curious about the execution.

Like every change with Facebook, it will take some time to get used to. But I plan to keep my account. Remember, if you don't want Facebook to change how they're showing your information, don't give them information to show. (That's why I keep ignoring their request for my phone number - if I want my Facebook friends to have my phone number, I can give it to them without Facebook facilitating that.) Facebook can't do anything with your data if you don't post it, and you're kind of giving them full access to your stuff when you upload it to the public website, no matter how strict your privacy settings are.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl