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September 22, 2011

Zuckerberg Unveils the ''Story of Your Life,'' Timeline

Over the last few days, speculation has been mounting over what exactly Facebook (News - Alert) Founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerburg has up his sleeve for the social networking giant’s latest innovations at today’s F8 live developer conference. 



While most in attendance, and the thousands of those awaiting Zuckerberg’s latest announcement on live streams, knew today’s announcement would be huge, there was one thing they didn’t anticipate: “SNL’s” Andy Samberg starting off the show.

Packed with jokes and quips, Samberg came onstage and delivered an exaggerated mocking of the Facebook CEO, and even poked a bit of fun at Myspace, until Zuckerberg finally joined him onstage. Following a casual dialogue of their own, Zuckerberg was finally left alone onstage as an anxious audience awaited his big announcement.

Starting off, Zuckerberg told the crowd that a record half billion people now use Facebook, with more people signing up every day. However, he continued, the next era of social networking will be defined by the apps and the “depth of engagement” that is now possible, thanks to everyone having their connections in place.

At the heart of these connections, Zuckerberg said, is the profile. A “really personal product,” the Facebook profile has become a mainstream method of expressing who we are. In a visual montage, Zuckerberg then showed the evolution of what the Facebook profile has become and where it’s headed.

The first-ever Facebook profile introduced, as described by Zuckerberg, was the “first five minutes of a conversation,” whereas the next profile developments over the years, or the next 15 minutes, have been a richer and more engaging experience, thanks to the addition of an advanced wall, events, photo albums, and real-time status updates.

But now, Facebook is ready to help users deliver the next few hours, Zuckerberg aptly said, in which he introduced “Timeline (News - Alert)” or, “the story of your life.”

Equipped with three facets -- stories, apps, and a new way to express who you are -- Facebook’s Timeline is a complete facelift of Facebook’s current user profile that will enable a more engaging, in-depth conversation among friends.

“Our job is to make this product the best way to express who you are,” said Zuckerberg. “This is the heart of the Facebook experience completely rethought from the ground-up.”

“With timeline, we didn’t want to just design a place for you to put all your stories and apps, we wanted to design a place that feels like your home,” he added. “Where you tell your story online is very personal. You invest a lot of time in it. We wanted to make Timeline a place that you are proud to call your home. Timeline is a completely new aesthetic for Facebook.”

From documenting your nursery school graduation to your high school graduation to your wedding night to the birth of your child, Timeline is there to capture it all, according to Zuckerberg. Timeline condenses your entire Facebook life into one page, helping you to express who you really are.

The feature includes a Timeline navigation on one side so that users can choose a year to view. The timeline for each year shows users the most important Facebook posts of the year. Moreover, all content is in your Timeline view including apps.

“It’s a great way to learn about who people are,” Zuckerberg said, noting that you have complete control over everything on your Timeline as you can monitor what is there and who sees what.,

“We are really proud of Timeline,” he added. “We think it’s an important next step to help you tell the story of your life.”


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Edited by Tammy Wolf
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