06 March 2009 | Author: O. Gaywood Media Optimiser

Facebook to launch new homepage

Facebook is set for a new homepage in the coming week and seems to be following the maxim that, if you can't buy them, compete with them and hope for greater success.

Following last year's failed bid for Twitter, Facebook - along with the rest of the world - has watched the micro-blogging platform's dramatic escalation in popularity. Companies, celebrities and regular folks have been joining the site en masse to mix and mingle, giving away as much or as little about themselves as they feel comfortable letting complete strangers know.

As of next week, Facebook users will be able to see constant updates from their contacts and they will be able to sign up to public profiles in order to follow organisations and public figures. The level of updates will be up to the user, meaning you can choose which friends you see more updates from. Accepting old childhood friends and acquaintances is also no longer an issue in terms of space as the cap of 5000 friends has now been lifted.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg commented in a blog post: "We must build Facebook to give everyone the power to share anything they want and connect with anyone they want.

"The way we're doing that is to first extend people's ability to connect with everything that interests them, and to give people a way to get updates from all of these connections. Then we're going to increase the pace of the stream, so you can immediately see what is going on around you."

A preview of the new homepage - which includes, among other features, more noticeable adverts - is available on Facebook.