Starting today, and over the next few weeks, Facebook will be slowing and progressively unveiling their new redesign to users depending on what networks you're in. Having experimented with this new design through www.new.facebook.com since a couple of weeks ago, I just wanted to share my thoughts on this new look, and what it means to us, the users. Let's begin with what everyone else will notice first, its look. The first thing I noticed was white space, lots and lots of white space. Initially, this disappointed me, as I thought it was wasted space. But as I reevaluate this, I think it was an intelligent move. The items are now less cluttered, giving Facebook back its simple and clean looks which drew users away from MySpace in the first place. I also love the integration of the wall and mini-feed. Facebook seems to be telling us that activity is activity, regardless if it's a wall post or the creation of a photo album; this discourages users from deleting items from their mini-feed since it's a different feeling from deleting a wall post. The new profile tabs are a nice touch as well, as they deemphasize applications, and refocus on Facebook's bread and butter, revolutionized communication. With the redesign, it also appears as if Facebook has remembered its primary purpose, to be the best social networking site in the world. With the introduction of the application platform a while ago, it seemed as if Facebook was trying to be a portal page and jack of all trades. It wanted to do games, music, comparing people, etc. And all these applications temped users to add applications to the point where the ease and cleanness of Facebook was replaced by laggy behavior and spam application invitations, giving Facebook the messy impression once regulated towards its notorious brethren, MySpace. With the allocation of the applications to the "Boxes" tab and the side bar of the wall, Facebook has reminded developers and users alike what its primary purpose is, to transform and simplify the way people of our generation communicate with one another. The next major aspect influenced is usability, which has remained constant, throughout the changes. Everything still takes about the same time to accomplish, messages, wall posts, etc. It may take a series of different steps, but the number of steps is relatively the same, perhaps one could argue that its now more intuitive, although it really comes down to taste. Facebook has also gotten rid of the left sidebar and placed on the profile something much more important in that space, you. Our eyes are trained to study left to right, up to down, so now your profile picture is in the upper-left corner, putting the attention on you, not your applications, a really nice touch. With the removal of this left sidebar, the homepage right sidebar has now doubled in size, giving you greater access to status updates, requests, notifications, and other core components of Facebook. Your top 8 applications can quickly be located on this sidebar, so you don't always have to click on the top of the screen, which is admittedly cumbersome. Furthermore, it's clear that Facebook wants all of our content, which includes you and me. With the introduction of the Publisher section located at the top of everyone's profile and at the top of your home page (Newsfeed), Facebook has placed less of an emphasis on quality, but rather quantity. Notes can be quickly published in two clicks, photo albums don't require you to give information such as location, you can now upload single photos, videos are only a couple of clicks away as well, and sharing a link has never been more prominently promoted. Facebook wants you to share your content with them, and they have never made it easier to do so. However, its not all pretty and cherry. As Facebook has now cannibalized a top application from a popular developer with the introduction of customizing which friends will show up on your friends space in the left of your profile, effectively killing the application "Top Friends" and creating the MySpace "top 8" drama some are far too familiar with. Also, I use Ad Block Plus with my Firefox, protecting me from ads on the internet, but judging by where the space is, it looks like advertising will be a lot more prominent on the right side of your profiles, and that these ads will be targeted based on the content on each profile; a genius move for Facebook for its developers and investors, but a reminder to its users that nothing is free. Facebook will be holding its developer conference this Wednesday, so its motives and direction with these new profile changes will become apparent then, but for now, this is an evaluation of what information is available to me. It's clear that Facebook is not content with being the social networking site of choice for college students, but wants to do to internet communication what Google has done to internet search. The only questions remaining whether will the application developers will tire of Facebook's closed environment and continuous adjustments, and will users continue to flock to a site which appears to have placed a lid on profile customization and which perpetually changes, giving the impression that it's difficult to use? Regardless of what the answers may be, Facebook has made clear that it's not interested in childish games and time wasting applications, only taking care of business by making communication easier and simpler than ever before.
Nice to meet you Facebook, again
Prone is for the Grown
I enjoy body boarding. There is something about being pushed by a force which is far stronger than one you can generate yourself to reach speeds which allow you to flip, spin, carve, and ride which brings a certain level of satisfaction for me. It's also a gamble and fresh experience every time because every wave is different, even if you're at the same break, at the same take off point. There is a certain amount of chance and exhilaration because you won't know if you're get it clean, if it'll close out early, if the lip will curl, until you are on it and feel it. But as I've expanded my repertoire of breaks, I've grown increasingly bothered by wave hogging surfers whom undoubtedly look down on spongers. I have experienced too many drop ins by surfers, and have grown tired of surfers who cut in line after I had already let them catch a wave before me; which is why I'd like to spend the next few paragraphs selling a case for respecting and appreciating the legitimacy and pros of body boarding. Just as a precaution, I will be ranting, so please either push aside judgmental and opinionated mindsets, or cease reading at this point. Body boarding is cheaper than surfing. A new short board runs at least $400 from T&C, and a new long board about $700. Mean while, body boards are in the $100 price range, much more affordable. One might argue that spongers also have to buy fins, which is true, so you'd have to add about $70 or so to the total price, but surfers also have to buy fins for their boards, which can easily be the same price. Any way you cut it, body boarding costs less, while still providing an opportunity to riding most of the waves desired by surfers, plus the shore breaks. I keep my body board and fins in the trunk of my 4 door sedan, that way if I get off work early, or plan on hanging out after, I can easily do so. Just pack and go. There is nothing more convenient. If I were surfing, I would have to place the boards on a surf rack and hope they won't get stolen as I take care of the other tasks I have throughout the day. Otherwise, I would have to drive all the way home, pick up the surf boards, go surf, then go back home, before I could do anything else, lest by surf boards be stolen. Along the same lines, a body board can fit anywhere, in the back seat, the trunk, or even on the bus. Surf boards either go on the bed of a truck, take up 2 rows and the trunk of a van, or on surf racks. And vans and trucks offer poor gas mileage, and are difficult to park. The cost of owning a truck or van becomes greater than cars each day as gas prices increases. Meanwhile, you can just throw your body board in the back of your Civic and go. The portability of the body board is rivaled only by the trays used by body surfers. Body boarding is also easier to pick up. It's easy to begin riding, and it doesn't take long before spongers learn to turn, drop knee, and pull off more difficult maneuvers. And since it was so easy to pick up, even if the advanced techniques are a struggle to grasp, you can still have fun in the water as you learn. Mean while, most aspiring surfers take at least a session or two to just learn how to stand. I argue that the same reason why some sports are more popular globally such as soccer and basketball over baseball and golf is because of simplicity to understand and play. In the same regard, the ease of body boarding should be an advantage over surfing. People don't want to do what everyone else is doing. They don't like to hit crowded breaks, buy the same clothes, or generally do and buy what everyone else does. Surfers, especially, pride themselves on individuality, as each board is hand crafted and separate from the rest. So what's more original, being one of two or three body boarders at Bowls, or one of 40 surfers? Yes, kids with body boards swamp Walls, but that's only because they are unwelcome, or unable to reach other breaks. If uniqueness is what you seek, I'd suggest body boarding among surfers. A common misconception is that there is less to do on a body board than on a surf board. Surfers can carve, pull floaters, shuffle their feet, rip the lip, and perhaps a few other moves. A body boarder easily matches those maneuvers with 360s, carves of their own, and off the lip flips. Plus, body boarders can drop knee, opening a whole new bag of tricks including 360s and ripping the lip. I'd argue that it's just a much fun as surfing, and depending on the individual, maybe even more. As I prepare to conclude my tirade, allow me to state that I love surfing. If I were in a different situation, I would surf as much as I body board, maybe more. I'm not arguing that body boarding is better, because that would be doing the whole apples and oranges thing. But I am stating that surfers should stop believing they are superior to body boarders and treat them with disrespect. This mostly pertains to young, twenty-something haole guys on their short boards, not so much to older local men on their long boards, those guys are always nice to me. Share the waves, mahalo for reading. Shoots! P.S. I'm always down with having sessions. I get off usually around 1pm, so if you like go, it me up!
Do not leave a message after the beep.
Voicemail is dead. Please pass it along so we will stop using it. Prior to text messages, emails, IM, and social networking sites going mainstream, voicemail had a purpose. It was an effective method of relaying a message if a direct telephone conversation was not possible. But it is no longer the most efficient method available for accomplishing this task. It takes much longer to listen to a message than reading it. Most information presented orally need to be written anyway, and its simpler to transcribe from text-to-text rather than speech-to-text. It is also difficult to forward or reply to voicemails, as listening to voicemail is essentially a task in itself, and is generally not a repetitive action in our lives at the same level email and social networking sites are. How many times have you returned someone's call saying, "Hey, I'm returning your call, but didn't listen to your voicemail. What's up?" And many people these days don't even bother setting up their voicemail, leaving a generic message of "You have reached xxx-xxx-xxxx, please leave a message after the tone." If that's not the case, then the voicemail could also be full, to the point where callers cannot even leave a message, because the owner of the mailbox lacks the time or motivation to tidy their inbox. And the worst crime of all, are committed by individuals whom leave voicemails saying, "Hey, it's me. Call me back." It's a waste of minutes and a waste of productive time. Calling people can quickly lead to games of phone tag, which become annoying quite quickly. Voicemails also tend to be chatter heavy, but text messages have a 140 character limit, creating an efficient and direct message for the recipient. Furthermore, an increasing amount of individuals have cell phones with data planes, allowing their phones to check for new email around the clock, providing an even easier method of communication. Text messages and emails will always be superior to phone calls, as the recipient may respond at their leisure, and there is no need to align two busy schedules for the conversation to take place. These days, the best way of reaching a busy person is to: Unfortunately, the reality is that voicemail needs to hang around for a few more years. Many businesses have blocked numbers, making voicemail essential for recording call back numbers and subject matter. Also, older members in our community continue to hold onto voicemail like a crutch, as it remains a tool in which they are comfortable with using. But as the voicemail technology quickly becomes outdated with the penetration of more efficient tools, let's think before we voicemail unless it's necessary, the other party will thank you for your consideration.
