Facebook debuted new versions of user profiles and its Open Graph sharing platform on Sept. 22.
The new profile format, called Timeline, reorients a consumer’s profile page away from the reverse chronological Wall that dominates the current format. Instead, the layout will integrate Facebook content such as posts, photos and apps onto one page. The profile will roll out to consumers in a few weeks, according to a company blog post.
The updated Open Graph will enable consumers to share Internet content beyond the use of the “Like” button. Companies such as music streaming service Spotify, video streaming service Netflix and newspaper The Washington Post can customize the “Like” button’s nomenclature to “listen,” “watch” or “read,” respectively.
After consumers share content via the new buttons, others will be able to access the content within Facebook if the content provider has created a compatible Facebook app. For example, if a consumer shares a video via online video site Hulu, others will be able to watch the video through a Hulu Facebook app.
The new version of Open Graph is in beta for developers.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during Facebook’s f8 developer conference in San Francisco on Sept. 22 that the updates are “two of the most exciting things we’ve been working on in a while.”
