About Face

Now, here’s an interesting little piece that has flown under the radar.

Facebook’s upcoming front-page overhaul (sure to cause weeping, gnashing, conniptions and consternation) will have a subtle twist to the status line.

It will no longer force you to write in the third person tense.

The current status message kicks you off as such:

old-facebook-status

No matter what you intended to write, it always starts with you. This made things awkward for those who would cross-post between Twitter and Facebook, because Twitter is rather open-ended and more of the Tweets are intended as direct conversation and reply.

The new status line (as advertised below) will be prompted with a simpler question:new-facebook-statusWhat’s on your mind? Clear, direct, and not necessarily as narcissistic in that the focus must be on you.

It will be interesting to see whether the Perenially Indignant Facebook Hordes will choose this alteration for their chief beef, or it will be allowed to slide into adoption. Personally, it’s a much bigger deal than most would initially guess, because it alters the author’s mindset. It may even change the tenor of what people communicate in Facebook status messages.

Comments

  1. Twitter Comment


    RT @ikepigott: FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: [link to post], YAY!

    – Posted using Chat Catcher

  2. Twitter Comment


    RT @ikepigott: FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: [link to post]

    – Posted using Chat Catcher

  3. Twitter Comment


    RT @ikepigott FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: [link to post] – first I heard but I like it!

    – Posted using Chat Catcher

  4. Twitter Comment


    @C_Collins RT @ikepigott: FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: [link to post] — Happy news!

    – Posted using Chat Catcher

  5. Twitter Comment


    Another interesting change from Facebook. RT @ikepigott: FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: [link to post]

    – Posted using Chat Catcher

  6. This is the first I heard of this but I think it’s great! I use Facebook for personal / family connections and Twitter for professional enrichment, so I don’t have Twitter update my status. Regardless, I think this is a great move to making Facebook more conversational and personal versus the current third-person tense. Thanks for your post!

  7. Molly says:

    I have been ignoring the is since I started following you.

Trackbacks

  1. Ike Pigott says:

    FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: http://tinyurl.com/avet4a

  2. Eric Glazer says:

    RT @ikepigott: FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: http://tinyurl.com/avet4a

  3. RT @ikepigott: FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: http://tinyurl.com/avet4a, YAY!

  4. RT @ikepigott FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: http://tinyurl.com/avet4a – first I heard but I like it!

  5. RT @ikepigott: FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: http://tinyurl.com/avet4a

  6. Frannkly, I think it’s an improvement: http://tinyurl.com/avet4a

  7. libby sexton says:

    @C_Collins @ikepigott – that is very twitter of facebook. http://tinyurl.com/avet4a

  8. @C_Collins RT @ikepigott: FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: http://tinyurl.com/avet4a — Happy news!

  9. Pam Abbazia says:

    Another interesting change from Facebook. RT @ikepigott: FACEBOOK TO END STATUS UPDATES IN THE THIRD-PERSON: http://tinyurl.com/avet4a

  10. etb_writes says:

    Elizabeth thinks this is a smart move. via @ikepigott http://tinyurl.com/avet4a

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