Is Status the most important tool in Social Networking today?

Many, if not all of you, have seen the changes made by Facebook Friday morning/afternoon. Remember when the old Facebook changed to the new and many users were up-in-arms about it? Well, Facebook has gone and done it again. This time, though, there isn't a whole lot that has actually been changed.

When you click on Home, you will be faced with a page full of feeds (status updates) in the center. These feeds are divided up by the Networks you belong to. For example, I have two Networks: Chicago and Where I've Been. I can see feeds from both, separately, or together. Very cool and very convenient and also very... Twitter.*

In a recent article, Hasn't It Always Been About Status? by Fred Wilson, Wilson states:

"I believe Facebook's recognition of status as the most important and most powerful social gesture seals the deal. Status is where it's at in social networking. This is very good for Twitter and its also very good for the other social nets who recognize this and move quickly to provide status updating features and open them up to the social web."

... and he's right. Status IS where it's at in social networking.

So, what do you think about Facebook's updated layout? Do you think it's beneficial to Facebook and its user numbers?

Katy Lynch
Community Manager
Where I've Been | Twitter | Facebook


*Let's talk about Twitter for a minute. Facebook hasn't exactly stolen their idea. Statuses have been around for quite some time, and Twitter is still an incredibly powerful tool on its own and throughout Facebook. (See Twitter applicaton.) They both go together like two peas in a pod... and I will continue to use them both equally.