
I have to say that after being an app developer on Facebook... - twampss
http://mattmaroon.com/2009/03/20/664/
======
jacoblyles
Is there a way they could test improvements without pushing them on 150
million users? I have to imagine they already have some internal testing
process.

What's a good practice?

Also, Matt, love the new site theme. I think I've been convinced to finally
give up white on black (Except for my terminal. It'll be a cold day in hell
before those design nazis convince me to change the colors on my terminal).

~~~
mattmaroon
Well, the problem isn't the scope. The test would have just told them that a
lot of people would complain they didn't like it, which they probably already
knew. A lot of people will do that with a good change or a bad one. What they
need to find out is if it will make their site into something bigger in the
long run, the way the mini feed and such did. I don't really see how you can
test that, because you're looking for something that is at best hard to
quantify and at worst impossible.

------
markm
Leave it to Matt to always go against the grain of conventional wisdom.

I definitely agree that Facebook has balls pulling out this redesign but I do
not agree that the design is for the better.

My thoughts on the new facebook homepage:
[http://blog.clutterme.com/2009/03/thoughts-on-new-
facebook-h...](http://blog.clutterme.com/2009/03/thoughts-on-new-facebook-
homepage.html)

    
    
        * It's going to stink for apps.
        * Facebook is killing its own page views
    

On the converse side, the redesign is a definite upper for brands and the
visibility of their pages:

Mashable talks about some of the effects that the redesign has had on its
Facebook Page, <http://mashable.com/2009/03/19/new-facebook-brands/>

~~~
swombat

        * It's going to stink for apps.
    

Apps stunk for the user experience anyway. They were an experiment gone
horribly wrong.

------
kcy
Would it be impossible for webapps to just have different interface versions
always available? Like if I really liked something about the very first
release, I should be able to roll back to that version and use that. We should
all be able to use the interface that we like the most and upgrade as we see
fit.

~~~
omouse
It's possible but you have to jump through quite a few hoops to do it. The web
isn't built for this unfortunately...

------
ableal
I'm sorry, but does that page say anything ? All I saw was solid black with
some dark gray smudges ...

It's about design, you say ? Curious ...

~~~
ableal
(Thanks for changing the theme, Matt. I'll send you the bill for the points I
got docked here for the snark ;-)

Well, now that I read it, I might as well comment: fine, keeping still kills
you. But the Google-leaving Douglas Bowman hit the nail: you can either hope a
designer does an Apple-class job, or you take the stolid measure-twice, cut-
once engineering approach. And it's a matter of company DNA.

Plus, what if the designer lands you with dark-grey-on-black ?

