Facebook is constantly changing. One of their newest and most significant changes ever is called Timeline – and they’re making it mandatory. Because of the way it works, a lot of people think that Facebook is forcing you to share all of your private information with the world. Here’s what you need to know.

What is Timeline?

Simply put, Timeline shows all of your Facebook activity in a pretty, time-based view. Your most recent activities are at the top of the page and you can scroll down to see your past activities – all the way back to when you were born. Really.

Timeline only affects your personal profile on Facebook. It has nothing to do with your business page – at least not yet.

What does Timeline look like?

Since Timeline is so visual, it’s best to see it in action. So, check out my Timeline here:

http://www.facebook.com/jteschke

There are a few things that you should know about this.

If you and I are NOT friends on Facebook, you will ONLY see things that I posted for the public to see. Everything else is hidden from you.

I should say that I tend to be more public that most people. So, you’ll see a bunch of stuff on my Timeline – including photos, videos and more. I intentionally made all of that available to the public.

Facebook also created a nice page explaining Timeline here:

http://www.facebook.com/about/timeline

Two common reactions to Timeline

Reactions to Facebook’s new Timeline feature tend to fall into two categories.

1. Holy smokes! Facebook sure does know a lot about me! – Yes, they do. But keep in mind that Timeline simply surfaces what you’ve already shared with them. Most of us don’t realize that we share so much with Facebook. You have control over that, of course.
2. Oh no! Does this mean that everyone can see my personal stuff?! – No, not unless you shared it with them. As I mentioned above, Facebook shares what you tell them to share. So, if you mark something as “Friends Only” when posting it to Facebook, only your Facebook friends will see it.

Still worried?

Most people don’t know this, but you can actually view YOUR timeline as the public would see it. Assuming that you have the new Timeline feature on your account, here’s how:

1. Log in to Facebook and click your name at the top right of the page
2. Click the small gear icon next to the “Update Info” and “Activity Log” buttons
3. Click “View As…”

The forest for the trees

I know this stuff is confusing. We’re living in a world where things change at warp speed. Just keep in mind that, among all of these changes, Facebook is quickly approaching 1 billion users worldwide. That’s a lot of eyeballs  - and a HUGE opportunity for businesses like yours and mine to reach them.

There has never been a better time to reach your audience. Don’t lose sight…

…and keep forging ahead!

This exceptional question was submitted by Terri. Thanks, Terri!

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