Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced Timeline, a new way of displaying the Facebook profile, at F8 Developers Conference. Since it is still in beta phase, Facebook members have to use a workaround to get access to the Timeline.
The concept of timeline is not exactly new on the Web. Google used it a couple of years ago in on one of its ads called Parisian Love. However, Facebook is the first one to implement this concept in a social network. What Timeline is supposed to do is display your top posts, photos and apps in a chronological order, so that the ones checking your profile learn your story.
The new profile is comprised of three parts: your cover, your stories and your apps. The first thing visitors will see on your profile page is the cover, a photo that you get to choose. Pick well, cause this is supposed to represent you and will be the element to generate the first impression. Next, there are your stories, which are basically your posts, photos, likes, places and activities, all in one place. Finally, the visitors of your profile will get to see which apps you use.
Timeline will be in beta phase till the end of September. After that, the feature will be available to all the members of Facebook. Still, if you are an early-adopter or simply cannot hold your curiosity back, there is a workaround that gives you access to the Timeline before the crowd. Follow the steps listed below:
- Register as a Facebook Developer here
- Allow access to your account
- Click the “Create new app” button that you will see displayed in the top right side of the next screen
- Name your application and select a domain for it (capital letters are not allowed for the domain)
- After ticking “I Agree To Platform Privacy Policy” select “Continue”
- A captcha code will be displayed and you will have to enter the two words in the text box
- The Facebook Developers web site will be displayed next. Go to “Open Graph”, which is on the left side
- After selecting “Get Started with Open Graph” you have to select a verb and a noun that define your app
- Select “Get Started”
- On the next two pages, scroll down and select “Save Changes and Next”, respectively “Save Changes and Finish”
- At the end of the process, a new page loads. You will have to head to your Facebook homepage and wait until the changes you made are effective
- Hit F5 or Ctrl+R until you get a pop-up message saying “Introducing Timeline – A New Kind of Profile”
- Select “Get it now”
- Set up your Facebook Timeline.
You may not be able to use this if you already have a developer account, but it is worth a try.
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