Users Say: "I Want my Old Facebook Back" Facebook could be getting a lesson in the ways of the social networking landscape it helped pioneer. The site launched a bunch of new features today which are not going over as well as its creative team likely anticipated.

An effort on petitiononline.com titled “Facebook.com Users Against the ‘News Feed’ and ‘Mini Feed’” had about 10,000 members at the time of this post. A group formed on the Facebook network Tuesday called “Students against Facebook News Feed” already boasts an incredible 95,000 members. Between 12:30 and 1:30 EST Wednesday morning, I watched membership to the group grow by 4,000 members. So, what’s the big deal?

The site introduced a new “News Feed” feature, which displays all of the most recent updates and actions of every friend a user has listed. If friend Jim sent a message to Jill today, the Feed says so. If Becky joined a new group, you can see that. If Jenna posts something on her ex-boyfriend’s profile, that little tidbit will show up on her current boyfriend’s News Feed.

It is such scenarios that have the community up in arms. One of the attractions of the Facebook has been its sense of anonymity. The new features seem to have eroded that.

It is apparent that Facebook members possess deep feelings of ownership over the networking site. One banner read “We want our old Facebook back now!” Unlike traditional social services like phones and email, in which people will simply walk away when they are not satisfied, Facebook users are showing a desire to stand up and fight. It is democracy in action on the one medium that is the most democratic of all, the Internet.

Facebook is part of the vast, new, and ever-changing expanse of social networking websites, in which the rules are being written everyday. The question here is, in its attempt to be innovative, did Facebook go too far?

In an ironic twist, the new features are actually fueling the resistance effort. Messages, notes, groups, and blogs expressing anger at the changes popped up all over the News Feed. Speaking on the growth of a group called “the New Facebook Sucks”, one user said, “At least this group will grow faster, ‘cause the whole world is going to see that I joined it.”

The site does permit users to remove specific notes about themselves that appear on the Feed, but only by removing them from your own profile after the fact.

Facebook and its creative team have yet to offer any response. When they do, they will have to assess how many users could walk away if the changes last much longer.

A sampling of comments from Facebook.com

Ravin Henry (UNI) wrote
at 10:30pm
Well, do we need to see everything and everywhere a person's been...I guess it's good if you want to see if you're man/woman is cheating...but, damn this is too much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Patty Burke (Lindenwood) wrote
at 10:04pm
Does anyone else feel like this has turned into "BIG BROTHER"?

Tim Braun (S. Central College) wrote
at 8:44pm
Why are you people so apaled by this? It only tells people how much of a psycho stalker/facebook whore you actually are. If you are embarassed that people can see who you talk to, or what you do on the site maybe you shouldnt do it in the first place huh? There are too many people on this site caught up in their lives on facebook because they do not have enough friends(I mean real friends, not people you added so you have more friends to seem cool and jazz up your pathetic online life) to actually enjoy a real conversation to get to know someone, not stalking them.

I dunno just my 2 cents.

P. S. all of you go out and meet just one new person in real life today and become actual friends with them.

Brandon Murphy (Minnesota) wrote
at 8:10pm
facebook? more like see-which-of-your-friends-is-the-biggest-stalkerbook

Jane B. (NW Missouri) wrote
at 7:08pm
The format sucks; it sounds more like a gossip column than a place to meet and stay connected with friends.

Caitlin Anderson (UNL) wrote
at 6:52pm
So if everyone just stopped using facebook, do you think they'd change it back?

AJ Baumann (UNL) wrote
at 4:06pm
Yup, Blake it says right here on my news feed that you took a shit 2 hours 57 mins ago.

I will say that some of these things are good but not all. That is for sure. I like knowing what going on...but not every post someone is making. I mean wow! Part of the fun was stumbling apon posts as you looked at friends profiles. Now you log on and are told every thing that happened since you logged on before the class you just got out of. Which as we have witnessed due to the new facebook (news/mini feeds) is a lot to catch up on from the 50 mins you just spent in class. Who knew so much happened on facebook in 50 mins, well we knew it, but now we have to admit that that much happens in 50 mins and who wants to do that?

any takers?

Lauren Taylor (UNL) wrote
at 2:23pm
This isn't just an invasion of privacy- people could be HURT by this.

'Oh, look at her, she does stuff on facebook one an hour, every hour. She's not cool.'

I've already heard that TWICE on campus. What'll be next, a template to log other addictions, like smoking or sex? It's just too intimate.

AJ Baumann (UNL) wrote
at 1:31pm
Everyone today is the day we lost our ways of sneaking around on facebook. Due to this new "feeding" thing, one must go back and cover their tracks so people dont know everything that they have been up to. If one were going to leave a fun little note for a friend to find on thier wall the next time they logged in to surpirse them...but now every one else knows its there unless you delete the mini feed. Where's the fun in that I ask. Invite everyone you know to join this group. Let it be know we do not care for this "feed"

elyse dankoski (UChicago) at 9:36pm
IS NOTHING SACRED???? i considered deleting my account, but then how would i post here to bitch about facebook??? i couldn't, could i? and bitching is more fun than abstaining.

Cam C (UCSD) wrote
at 7:09pm
They should have an option to where we can limit what we want shown. Why are THEY choosing what "facebook activity or movement I want show." Wouldn't it be smarter for the user to choose??? It's amazing how poor web design can really make you want to delete your facebook acount.

Katherine Lan (UConn) wrote
at 6:00pm
I wouldn't mind if they did this as like... a joke for a day... like haha, look what we can do... but to actually have it around all the time as the new facebook? I don't like it... it's too creepy...
  ¶ 12:25 AM