Introducing Timeline

Remember the days when a wall was just a wall, friends were organized by networks of schools, people joined groups instead of "liking" something and no one understood the point of poking? (OK, maybe the last one is still true).

Still, Facebook has undergone many changes since its beginning in 2004, with perhaps one of the biggest changes in the process of launching.

Most Facebookers have probably already either upgraded or have at least noticed the new profile, dubbed the "timeline," which basically turns your profile into a personal digital scrapbook. Facebook announced in a blog on Jan. 24 that everyone will have the new timeline "over the next few weeks," so whether you've been anxiously awaiting for your friends to upgrade, you've already been forced to upgrade or you've been personally dreading the change, it will shortly be arriving to a computer near you.

For those who aren't excited about the new look, never fear. Here are six things about the timeline to know for a smooth transition.

1) With the new Facebook timeline, you will have a seven-day grace period to make changes before it goes "live" to other viewers. That means you will have an entire week to personalize and organize the new timeline. If you're happy with the new look before the week is over, you can choose to launch it to the public early.

2) Timeline makes it easy to highlight big life events, or minimize stories you may want to hide. So whether you're graduating college or buying a new car, Facebook now makes it easy to highlight what you think is important. If there's a post you want to feature, click the star and the story will appear over two columns in the timeline. By clicking the pencil, you can delete or minimize a story also. This makes it easier to look at "your life" at a glance.

3) Dates and locations can be added to any photo or event. This means you can feature stories and big events in your life before you ever got a Facebook. So those embarrassing baby pictures your mom uploads? The ones that conveniently get lost in the shuffle after a few days with the old Facebook? Yeah, those will be easy to find now by the year on the right of the screen.

4) With timeline comes an Activity Log. Only you can see your activity log, and it includes — you guessed it— all your activity, starting with the day you started Facebook. In this log, you can adjust privacy and decide whether or not you want a story to appear in your timeline. This is probably the easiest way to manage your personal timeline.

5) All of your privacy settings should remain the same, Facebook announced in its blog.

Although I have heard of a couple people saying their settings were different, so take the seven days to make sure everything looks how you want it. Also, old photos and posts may be easier to find. Take those seven grace period days to also make sure your old pictures are still suitable for new friends, which may include coworkers or employers.

6) Last but not least, timeline also features a cover photo. This can include more pictures of you, or your dog, or virtually anything.

Creating an interesting cover photo is half of the fun of getting timeline, and has almost gotten somewhat competitive among some people.

For examples, visit www.hongkiat.com/blog/creative-facebook-timeline-covers.