Facebook has a new timeline! Changes can be tough, I know I keep an eye on what my kids are posting on Facebook. My oldest has even completely gotten rid of his account as he gets ready to apply for jobs. He has moved on to reddit.com – something I really need to explore and find out more about. Facebook has said this time they are keeping your old privacy settings, but I would check in case. Privacy settings are up on the top right hand side with the pull down arrow.
I recently figured out I had set mine to Only Me for everything. I wonder if my friends wondered why I seemed to spend so much time on Facebook and never post anything. It’s a good idea to wander around in those settings every so often. I also have facebook set up to send me SMS messages when my kids post. It’s a really handy feature and you can use it to get a message whenever any of your friends posts. I do have my apps set up to be viewable (when they post) to only me.
You can also set up lists, and then allow only a list to see them. For example: I got pulled into Castleville recently. I really didn’t want to bore everyone I know with Castleville requests so I added a list (left hand side) of just the friends I have that play Castleville; then in privacy under apps I changed it to only allow the Castleville list to view the posts. Now I can also click on that list when I am looking for new things and just see those people. I also use the list option with sharing to let just certain groups know about some information.
Some of the new Facebook features with timeline include:
Your “Cover.” This is the big picture across the top of your page.
Your “Info.” With Timeline, mostly everything is displayed.
Featured Content Categories. In addition to your Info, Timeline displays four categories of different types of content. By default, the categories are Friends, Photos, Map, and Likes. You can swap out other categories (Subscribers, Subscriptions, Notes, to name a few) by clicking the drop-down menu and choosing something else.
Activity Log. Above the Featured Content Categories is a button called “View Activity” and it shows a red counter of posts that require approval before appearing on your profile. A drop-down in the top right corner lets you filter to only see certain types of activity or content published through specific apps. Check it out to be aware of what you are sharing and with whom.
Privacy. Facebook preserves the privacy settings you had with your old format. The new “Limit the Audience for Past Posts” privacy control lets you apply the “friends only” setting to anything you published publicly or to more than just your friends.
So, despite the huge change in look it’s really not that different.
I just noticed the book 
I am a SAHM/WAHM of three boys ranging in age from 3 to 18. We are working on saving enough for college at the same time as affording diapers. I author a few blogs, including http://teched4kids.com. I currently teach computer information technology classes for the local university and have in the past taught workshops for kid's in technology education besides being the Kentucky State FIRST LEGO League Championship Coordinator from 2005 to 2008.
