Thoughts on the recent Facebook changes

11:40 AM on 9.21.11

The good:

Better separation between comments - I love the 1px border and the 4px padding on the bottom of each comment. (screenshot)

Subtle drop-shadow on the top bar - So sexy (screenshot)

More detail about a ticker story on hover - Especially photo-related stories (screenshot)

[Update 2:20PM PST] Send Birthday wall posts from the homepage - So convenient (screenshot) [Update 2:32PM PST] On the other hand, the user experience of sending a Birthday wall post from the homepage modal is not good. After you send a Birthday wall post to one friend on the list, the modal disappears and you have to re-click the link to get it back. You should be able to send multiple Birthday wall posts without the modal disappearing. [Update 2:57PM PST] It would be cool if I could RSVP for events from the homepage as well. Right now, I can’t perform any useful actions from the homepage events modal. (screenshot)

The bad:

Inconsistent top bar behavior - On the homepage and profile pages, the top bar is omnipresent/persistent (stays visible as you scroll down), but disappears when you scroll down on a canvas page. (example)

Ticker when the chat sidebar is hidden - Feels cluttered (screenshot)

The meh:

Home button on the top bar unnecessary - I always click the Facebook logo to go to the homepage, so the home button seems redundant. Also, I think the top bar would look cleaner without it.

Chat sidebar goes to the top of the page - I think it would look cleaner if the chat sidebar appeared underneath the top bar instead of over it. (screenshot)

Those are my (and my friend Felix’s) initial thoughts on the recent Facebook changes. Let me know if you agree or disagree!

I will probably post some additions and/or updates later tonight or tomorrow.