Back To The Basics: Newest Facebook Layout Quietly Kills The Beautiful Newspaper Concept

It seems like it was just one year ago today that Facebook was releasing their newest News Feed vision to the world. Oh wait, that’s right —  it was exactly one year to this day that the Facebook team livestreamed the newest vision of News Feed. This new layout was going to change the way that users found information and how they could separate feeds to create their own customized content. Fast forward a year and that dream has vanished. Turns out that people just want what they’re used too.

The new layout that was released yesterday looks, well, familiar:

New Facebook Layout

You’ll note the profile picks pulled back in with posts (much like the mobile version) a separated status section and a more card-like appearance of updates that encapsulates all post information.  For reference, here’s a look at what most users are still seeing:

Facebook Layout Before Redesigns

The most noticeable element missing in the new layout is the beautiful News Feed re-imagined concept that was touted last year. The custom feeds would make the content feel more modern and newspaper-y. It was a bold, out-of-the-box look. A look that didn’t resonate with the users however:

Last Year’s Newspaper-y Concept

Facebook News Feed product manager, Greg Marra, told the Verge:

“People don’t like us moving their furniture around, because you break muscle memory … You don’t need to relearn anything — that was one of our big themes.”

Oh, and that slick black side container? Turns out that was “too confusing for most users.” It’s safe to say that the upcoming change away from the newspaper style layout will be a safe one. The people have spoken and less appears to be more.

While this new change may not innovate, but will resonate with the common Facebook user.  Rest in peace Newspaper News Feed.