We had this discussion before.

Why do creators of social media platforms think they know what you want better than you do?

• Is it job security for programmers?
• Is that why the changes never stop?
• Or is it innovation on crack?

Once again, Facebook made some major changes in design. As with any change, some people like them. Some don’t.

But, some of the changes even confuse the Pied Piper of Facebook, Mari Smith.

What Now?

If you are one of the 500 Million+ users on Facebook, you probably already experienced the new design.

The differences fall into two major categories –

• Personal profiles
• Facebook pages

Profile Changes

The changes to the personal profiles started at the end of last year. Here are a few examples.

• Key features like your job title, employer, where you live, and your birthday are shown at the top of the wall – the amount shown depends on how much of your profile you complete
• Photos where your Friends tagged you or those you recently added appear across the top of your wall – you have the option of hiding specific photos
• Tabs are no longer shown at the top – links were added under your photo
• Projects you worked on can be added under Education and Work
• Featured people category allows you to group family members and create different lists for friends
• Sports category was added where you can identify sports you play, favorite teams and athletes

Facebook Pages

My whole point of signing up for Facebook was for the pages that feature your business. For a number of reasons, I have been on the fence about creating one.

Some of the most extensive changes occurred with the Pages application. I signed up for a webinar, hosted by Mari Smith, where she reviewed the changes. If you don’t know Mari, she is the go-to person about all things Facebook. I met her when I lived in San Diego and she is fabulous.

Here is some of what’s new.

• Photo Strip – this is similar to the personal profile, but you can add marketing messages in with photos
• Admin View – located with the links on the left, there are options for handling spam, including blocking profanity
• Filters – on the wall, administrators have the option of showing posts from Everyone or just the administrator’s posts – fans who “like” the page can toggle between the two options
• Postings – you have the option of posting to walls as yourself or as your Facebook Page
• Popularity Order – this applies on the personal and the Facebook Page – posts are no longer chronological, but shown in “popularity” order by some calculation created by programmers

How Popular Are You?

If I had to choose one feature that demonstrates the aggravating assumption that Facebook knows best, it is the “Popularity Order” of posts.

The formula determines what posts appear first, so one written a week ago may appear above one written 5 minutes ago. This feature is particularly irritating for those who do not use Pages.

The good news – there is a way to fix it.

1. Scroll to the bottom of Facebook and click on Edit Options

2. Click on drop-down menu after Show posts from