Wow. Again with a redesign. Again - with a whoops - that we are changing again message to a large customer base.

Again with an identity crisis and a lurch from idea to idea. Facebook is scaring me. Who is in charge over there? Do they have a strong point of view of what they want to be when they grow up or are they just moving from idea du jour to idea du jour?

Consumers are loyal but can be fickle. Facebook is testing their patience now and their brand’s good will.

There is a reason that testing was invented.  Test, respond, refine and test again. Also, it takes awhile for a new rollout of a service to “take” with the base. So if Facebook changes again – radically - the consumer base will feel whipsawed.

I don’t like the new design of Facebook. It is actually of less use to me than before and it isn’t as cool of  a service as Twitter so Facebook mis-positioned itself chasing a smaller competitor. It is time to get back to basics for Facebook.

Facebook needs to get back to its core mission– helping friends communicate and  hang out together– building micro communities — and sharing ideas and photos together–  it needs to simplify itself– it needs to be a utility– Facebook was on its way to be BOTH “needed” and “loved” as a brand — now– it is neither– it needs immediately to go back to its utilitarian roots–regain the trust of its users– slow down some of its innovation to allow its base to  figure out  all of its services–  and catch its breathe.