Facebook made its new Timeline pages available to all users, promising to replace its static profile pages with a visual presentation of the story of people’s lives from past to present. With Timeline, Facebook will display in chronological order every photo, friending and status message each user has posted since joining. The privacy settings will be kept intact, but all this content will be far easier to see than before.The feature offers users a visual personal history that is similar to a digital scrapbook. Some have even compared its look to Myspace.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called Timeline a way to share life experiences. But it could also become useful place for marketers and advertisers to target consumers based on their “likes” and devotion to certain brands as Facebook.

R. “Ray” Wang, CEO at Constellation Research, says Timeline should improve the user experience by adding detail and context to one’s profile.

At the same time, Wang cautions, “There’s a growing concern among individuals that Facebook is driving individuals to trade their privacy for convenience without understanding the risks. Can individuals turn it off forever if Facebook still owns the data? What do you do to take yourself out of a Timeline? Is this the beginning of digital extortion?”


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