Don’t like the look of the new Facebook? Upset over last week’s mandatory changeover? You can do something about it, at least for now.
If you really want to keep Facebook the way it was, just add the Facebook Developer application here, and then click on over to facebook via this link. Voila! You’ve got the old Facebook look and feel, and you can change back any time (there’s a link at the top of every page.
This is probably a short term solution, so get your moments in with the old Facebook while you can. Who knows when this back door will be closed for good.
I think i can no longer tolerate this kind of stupid posts, you are really lowering the bar on this blog…
yeah, you’re fired. no longer allowed to come here.
hehehe, why is this post stupid, from what I can see, it’s actually really useful! I hate the new facebook (like the rest of the world) and anything to return to the old for any amount of time is worth trying. Still, facebook should just listen!
yes it is a trivial post, but short, so BTFU loco. what about a backdoor to get to the old TC layout, i hate having to open up the links in new tabs just to read them. make on big long ting for desktops and this new layout for pda’s and wierdo’s. banging on at FB, give options for yours too
yo arrington, show him who is the boss..
i am fed up with tabs everywhere, now in facebook profiles too other than all browsers, mind u tabs where taken from 1998 hotmail tabs. Also “comment” “comment” links hurt eye in every profile, very intrusive, they could make it subtle with that with icons or dull color. Other than that main point being the new profile saves bandwidth and time loading long profiles.
show him who’s boss? can u stick your nose any further up his colon?
WTF are you talking about. This is a useful post! You must be the idiot product manager at FB who pushed for this stupid tabed UI. It sucks!
while i’m sick and tired of all the cretins bitching and whining how the new FB is ruining their lives and causes them low sperm count, this article is perfectly valid for the blog – it exposes and discusses a work-around for an otherwise intended system design.
nice find.
Many fb haters think last straw to hold on is the new facebook. They think fb will lose popularity because of this. Let them feel gud for a while
Combining minifeed and wall was a brilliant idea only fb could come out with. I still think there should be option open tabs one below another so that full profile can be viewed in single page..
New Site For College Students: http://www.inkampus.com
Thanks, i was googling for a way last night and couldn’t figure it out.
I think I may be the only person who likes the new Facebook.
you’re not alone … I love it aswell
I like it too. HUGE improvement over the old one. It’s just the people who dislike the old one who is whining (which is ok).
When they first let developers onto it – it wasn’t so hot. But its exponentially better now.
I agree with Neil.. first day or two, it just wasn’t catching. It was a drastic change, and there just seemed to be too much space..
But yeah, I kinda really think it’s a fabulous improvement.
To those who don’t, I’m sorry that you don’t and hope you’ll find a (long-term) way to avoid switching over. =)
It took me about a week to get used to it. I like it now, but I still prefer the old news feed. I don’t have a large enough network to need stories to be separated onto different tabs.
Also loving the new FB. Much more about communication and less about time wasting apps
One of the best changes to a mainstream website in a while. Theres some quirks and bugs I dont love, like the photo browser… When you view an image and then hit back it doesn’t return to where you were (have to open in tabs). But overall the layout is far superior and makes finding information quicker. You all back lashed when feeds came out and now you can’t live without it. Give it a few weeks and you wont want to go back.
I like it too. I encourage folks to explore it before denouncing it, and give it a little time to sink in. It’s always a drag when change happens, because suddenly you don’t know where stuff is anymore. But FB did their homework on this one. Give it a chance.
this is indeed a silly post. so incredibly backward, for such a supposedly forward thinking site.
fired.
Dan, I’d be embarrassed to have such a shitty website linked to my name.
yup, and i’d feel like a bit of a loser if i didn’t have the courage of my convictions to post my name or my site when i comment on other people’s posts. “mr anonymous”? nice moves. and thanks for the traffic.
yeah good one Dan, i clicked ur linked bcoz of that cowards comment. but it is still a shit website, sorry bro
let’s move on. what’s the point.
If the point isn’t evident to you, then perhaps you shouldn’t be reading this blog… actually, maybe you shouldn’t be reading at all
Oh no, I’ve loved me some new facebook since they first allowed us normal-folk to test it a few months back
wow!
oh thanks so much for this post. The new facebook has a great neat look but on the functionality front, it sucks! There are many bugs they should have fixed before making the new look mandatory. I’m sticking with the old one till it lasts
I still don’t have a Facebook profile.
totally agree with you!
Thanks for pointing a bunch of noobs to the legitimate app developer’s forum – the forum’s IQ has dropped 100 points since regular users started doing this.
Please join this group : 1,000,000 TO VOTE AGAINST THE NEW FACEBOOK
http://www.new....gid=31337056781
Also please vote here:
http://newfacebookpetition.com
The most useless post ever. I am unsubscribing from the feed.
too late, you’re banned too.
lol, ban me
haha too late mofo, i unsubscribed. stick it to the man
Sounds like another FB employee trying to shut down any comments against the stupid new FB UI.
…the most useless comment ever.
lol… this is fun
/anon
Most pointless post on techcrunch this year.
see ya.
(actually I secretly just quite like the new facebook)
ur actually a funny guy
stop pandering Alex, gaylord
Very useful, thanks Michael! Ignore the naysayers. If they don’t want to read an article, don’t click the headline. That’s what RSS readers are for…
Congrats on 1M subscriptions by the way. Feedburner should make a new icon just for you.
“oh look at me Michael. you’re so lovely, they should make a new statue just for you… oh I love you so” Adam you brown-nosing gaylord
TechCrunch has had way more useless posts!
Please don’t fire me – I like the useless ones every so often!
The new FB sucks. Why didn’t FB change their own homepage to the same look if its so great? Its MySpace2 now.
Give it a rest. The new Facebook offers far more protection to users and far more control. It also allows developers far more dynamic ways to reach users. The reason why developers complain is because now they actually have to bring it. The old fashioned xml type feed apps simply do not cut it.
As for you people who don’t have a Facebook account are you stupid? You come to TC because you likely are trying to make something of yourself on the web. 80 plus million users go to Facebook. You should at least be aware of what makes them successful which means using the website.
Michael -
Any idea how we can get the old TechCrunch look-n-feel back? Hate the new one.
Anti-change agent.
Thank you very much! A few days ago I deactivate my Facebook account ’cause I was forced to use the new awful and annoying layout, now I’m back with the old one, thanks!!
What is wrong with the post ? I hate the new facebook . even if techcrunch likes the new facebook there is nothing wong with mentioning that there is a way back to the old facebook . Besideds I dont think people should be forced to use the new facebook ..
Thanks . I am going back to the OLD facebook !
Facebook is forcing people?
i have been using the new facebook for over a month now. its really good. very organized. most of my friends used to have their profile messed up with applications. now i can visit them without having to worry about how long it will take to load the page.
LOVELY !
IT WORKS .
I AM BACK TO THE OLD FACEBOOK ..
THANKS THANKS THANKS
The new Facebook is so much better. I hated having to search someone’s profile for 30 mins just to find their wall. The only reason people liked the old one is because they got used to it when they were using it for five years.
http://www.SchoolShift.com
No one said you had to go through school alone.
Any change is odd at least for the first couple of days… but with facebook even after trying for quite sometime i think the previous interface was much more appealing… I know fb design GURU’s must have thought far ahead and have reasons. but still…
Someone should build a site which looks exactly like the old facebook.
Is there a way to do the same on Techcruch!?!
I hope Michael doesn’t say – fired..
gay
The response to the new facebook design highlights one of the fundamental characteristics of the human species. Resistance to change and fear of the unknown.
Change requires new ways of thinking about things, stepping outside of the proverbial box and adapting to shifting circumstances. Look around you, most people are stuck in a cycle of old habits that require little thinking. When forced to put their gray matter to work, they respond with anger and derision because it is far easier to not think than it is to think.
At the end of the day though, those of us with the ability to adapt see this for what it is … a bunch of whiners. I mean seriously, it’s not like any one of them is paying for use of the site. If you don’t like it, don’t use it. It’s simple.
At least now I know, through the social graph of course, which of my friends are capable of adapting and those that are not. Those that whine about the trivial and those that evolve. Separating the wheat from the chaff, if you will.
And if there has been anything beneficial about the new design, it is precisely that.
no, actually the new design is just really hard to navigate around. I love change, but I don’t like the new fb layout at all.
No, actually the new design is really easy to navigate around. Once you put your brain to work and make an effort to understand it. Though i do understand that with age comes a decrease in brain elasticity.
I completely agree with Michael, in fact, I always adapt to changes, but for better not for worse.
And you Patrick are the arbiter of better versus worse?
are you really trolling over an opinion on whether the new fb design is better than the old one?
If i were trolling, I would have said something along the lines of look at what resistance to change has brought us in the past 8 years.
I work in the industry building websites and every single design change that I have been a part of has provoked the same exact reaction from a large constituent of existing users. Anger and whining. The interesting thing is that new users, who had no knowledge of the previous designs on the sites I have worked on, did not complain. They were always the ones defending the new design, simply because they did not have to adapt to it. They were the ones providing reasoned and well thought-out arguments why the new design was better vis-a-vis emotionally laden tirades. They were not beholden to the instinctual fight-or-flight response that change provokes.
Human beings are creatures of habit. They are predictable. Just as are the reactions to this thread.
Consider it an experiment in psychology, not trolling.
Mike you are so right. I kinda know teh reason why the change, but they got the design wrong to begin with. I am so surprised they have that little imagination. Search you old articles on Facebook clones (especially in China) and tell me what you see?
I have one question. And I have not a clue if they are related, so I expect you or one of the experts to answer it.
Does the new FB layout save on Bandwidth? What other technical benefits from FB side does this new layout bring to the table and ultimately their bottom line?
I do not suspect change just because they are so bored. I mean it is good for business as they may loose 20 million users over time if there is a viable alternative. Hmm, a clone of the old Facebook maybe. If that were to occur, could FB still sue over their old design?
What if there is a English version of the German clone of Facebook but tweaked just enough to make it legal. Mike what’s your say on this.
Oh by the way , excellent feed on TC50. It was very informative and also very hilarious. Saw some clips with you on 1938media. Really cool.
I hate to say it but I agree with MA here. Tab UI are bad UI in general. You are forcing users to knock on every door to find out what might be behind it. The new FB overcomplicated the UI for no reason. There are better ways to organize the page and forcing people to switch is really dumb. Heck even yahoo didn’t force me to switch to their new email. MZ was at one point very pro users, but on this one he lost my respect.
The new design seems slower to load and it is confusing to use. I like it better than the old one but it has some flaws. The new design is built around feeds more than anything else.
For people who use groups a lot, it is harder to get to your favorite groups. The profile box little icons which you could click that would zoom you to apps was really useful.
The search box on the left hand side in the old profile was more intuitive because that is used mostly to get to a friend.
The first thing you do as a user is look in that area to see if your friends pic is showing and then if it isn’t in the old profile you would just type a few letters. Now you have to go across the page to the top right hand search box.
Captain Oblivious;
“Once you put your brain to work and make an effort to understand it”
I take it you must have great difficulty with change then?
lol, does your brain hurt when someone rearranges your desk?
Michael~
Speaking of Facebook thanks for accepting my friendship
I am glad to see by the comments that I am not the only one that likes the new look just fine. At first it was a bit aggravating to get used to it but change is good and now I hope they leave it as is!
The design centers on the idea of sharing. It seems as if the networking part is just a secondary component and the primary is sharing. So, the new design really encourages you to share articles, photos, etc. Not really good though because not many of use it to actually share, unless statistics show otherwise.
I think the problem with the redesign is the problem with Facebook in general. When you have a page on Facebook, they own your information. You can have all of the privacy and sharing tools in the world, but you don’t own your content (which in this case is your life story, friends, interests, etc. which should be your most valuable content).
In the end, the new Facebook is built for monetizing their user-base, they bet the bank that you are so invested in your network there that you won’t go elsewhere – they are only able to do this because they own your content.
If there truly was an open social system on the Web, they would be more sensitive to their users.
I deleted my Facebook account the other day, had 100 or so friends on there but it ended just receiving spam from the meaningless applications people spend time on. Plus the fact, it didn’t do anything great, it’s nice not having to log in.
i’m not gonna say that one is better than the other, but the new fb really doesn’t take too long to get used to. I agree that it should be an option to switch back, but it’s not as if it’s a buggy, unusable thing. It works so far, and i think people need to calm down.
Also, Michael, are you being serious with the banhammer stuff? Maybe most of those guys are douche bags and I don’t know the whole story, but comment pages are supposed to have these different kinds of feedback–even if it’s not relevant.
I’m not sure I’m pleased with all the directions has taken recently. It’s been kind of frustrating trying to adapt to the changes when I’m not a constant user. Now, it’s, “Where is that button…” every time I go there. Not a fun task to have.
Jake
NoteScribe: Premier Note Taking Software
Dude Mike what is up with the angry moderation on this thread?
i think it’s healthy, keep it up, ban the mofos that think you owe them a service
People don’t like change. The new look is more useful, and everyone will get over themselves soon.
Why do so many people have their panties in a bunch about the new design of Facebook? There IS life outside of social networking. Products and websites change all the time. If you don’t like the product and/or changes don’t use it. Facebook is responsible for making business decision both good and bad without a bunch of whining from customers. Facebook still provides a solid platform to communicate, share stuff etc. regardless if they moved a few things around. Get over it. You’ll be fine, trust me.
I love the new layout {seesmic_video:{”url_thumbnail”:{”value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/OaZ8EYi9kG_th1.jpg”}”title”:{”value”:”I love the new layout ”}”videoUri”:{”value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/jtB9LdvZQj”}}}
Bingo. Conversations now have a context.
I like the new layout too. In fact, being a UI designer, it’s one of my favorites on the web right now. Very intuitive, easy to use. My bets are that new users who have never seen the original layout will find the new one much easier to use/learn.
who carez man.
Still using FB and you’re older than 16…???
LMFAO!! YES!!! Finally someone with a little bit of common sense. (Besides Mike, of course… everything Mike says is the gold standard for awesome… because I really don’t want to get fired…)
Why is poor Michael stuck on the FB beat?
Put one of the interns on it…
Where’s the link to take me back to the old TechCrunch
That’s funny how Mike fires back in blog post reactions and says “ya fired”. I am confident he was mimicking Donald Trump’s finger style like when he does it to folk on NBC’s The Apprentice…lol
why “lol”, ur not funny
For gods sake it’s Facebook , not some vital application or interface that’s mission critical to getting your job done
We have lost it , when we can spend so much time on this bull shit when our country is going to the dogs and wall street is looking more like a beggars alley
We are pissing about facebook , we deserve this situation
Please read and compare it to FB’s new layout what deserves your attention?
Hewlett-Packard will lay off about 24,600 employees over the next three years in an effort to streamline the company following its $13.9 billion acquisition of Electronic Data Systems last month, the company announced Monday.
The layoffs will be part of a three-year restructuring program, HP said in a statement. The company will lay off about 7.5 percent of its workers during that time, with nearly half of the reductions coming from HP’s U.S. workforce, HP said. About half the cuts will take place in 2009.
yeah but facebook has changed its layout
Here’s an application you can add to change it back:
http://www.new....&topic=6192
I loves me some righteous indignation. it is the American way.
Captain Obvious
If this does not bother you , what does FB’s new layout ?
William Lopez,
I am bothered by things like collateral damage, suspension of habeas corpus, and incompetence.
Websites don’t really affect me one way or another. To me, they are useful or they are not.
hmm. I seem to have somehow slipped by the new Facebook. I still see the old Facebook layout and a bar that says “Check out the New Facebook. Try it now.” I like it to stay – maybe there is another backdoor that I did without realizing?
“maybe there is another backdoor that I did without realizing?”
Thats what she said.
Captain Obviou , we may be on the same page , just reading things differently
I was just disgusted , we in IT are in grave danger( onstant job loses and other BS) and the US is going to hell with Bush leading the way and so many people are just pissed at FB’s layout
Did not mean to pinpoint you in anyway
Can we one-click back to the old TechCrunch layout?
Just kidding, I like the new design. Thanks Mark!
“just kidding” no you’re not, stick to ur convictions and stop pussy-footing around
Thanks for sharing how to get the old look back (at least, I’ll enjoy it while I can…). As much as I can see Facebook is trying to put a lot of effort into making things overall “easier” to use, I really miss having the search for friend box prominantly in the upper left corner of the page, I keep trying to type my friends names into that gigantuan update your status box…doh!