Facebook completely revamped their look, and 5 million users rose up in protest; over 20% of these at ‘I hate the new Facebook.com’.
SO how bad is it? Not bad enough for them to leave, and Facebook is taking advantage of the complaints to improve the interface further. IE 6 was going to be useless, but Facebook made the decision to come up with a fix after the news it would not be supported raised a firestorm of criticism.
On the whole, however, people will simply re-teach themselves how to use the new Facebook. The social network is too valuable to ignore, having blown past MySpace as the premium network available.
Layout is easily learned, and soon the 5 million will have settled in and actually be enjoying the ease and improved facility of the new version. People just hate change, is all.
However, there are several positive sides to the uproar. One, it gives Face book free marketing intelligence, and allows them to skim the forums for what the users really want and need. Second, it shows what a huge impact Facebook has had as a brand.
This is a very good sign. Even though people are upset, the fact that so many CARE about what Facebook does or doesn’t do shows how very important the social network has become to its millions of users. This is what branding is all about, and kudos to Facebook for listening to their clients.
Tags: Facebook, IE 6, social networks