Maybe all the bad publicity is overstated, but since nearly 2 million Facebook users have stated their displeasure at the site’s recent redesign, I think perhaps something’s amiss.

In the summer of 2008 Facebook spent quite a while working on a complete site revamp with some new features, re-arranged interface, and so on. They previewed many of those new features to some general public testers (myself included) and got quite a bit of feedback that ultimately resulted in some very nice changes to the site’s structure (in addition to solving some nasty bugs). One of the biggest advantages to that redesign was that it unified the site across the board. Ever since Facebook launched it’s Developer Platform a couple of years ago, custom applications, which often create a lot of clutter, began appearing in user profiles across the site. Facebook realized that this was a problem and sought methods for restoring the platform’s user-friendliness and generally clean, web 2.0 appeal. In my opinion, they succeeded (even though there were a few disgruntled users at first.)

Unfortunately, this time around, I think Facebook is wrong in what they’ve done. Almost overnight they released a brand-new way of interacting with friends, browsing the site, and uploading content–the new features are often extremely confusing, especially at first. My initial visit to the redesigned site brought a mix of feelings; I knew it was different and that it would take some time to figure out exactly how everything worked, but a couple weeks later I really don’t feel like I have a good grasp on things.

The one word that comes to mind when I open the new Facebook is “clutter.” There is stuff everywhere. My sidebars are filled with links, people I may know, photo updates, and I’m not even sure what else. It’s anyone’s guess as to how content is selected for those content areas. Then there’s the center/main content region. I get updates from all kinds of sources–applications, wall posts, photos, videos, notes, and the list goes on. It’s supposed to resemble some type of “real-time” feed or something (not getting the real-time part), but essentially I feel repulsed at all the information overload. It’s just way too much.

Then, how do I updatemy status (the proverbial cornerstone of all things Facebook)? But wait, it’s not really my status anymore. It’s “published content” (whatever that means) which makes me think of a blog, book, or newspaper. Certainly not the traditional “status update” we’ve had from day one. I think they’re trying to adopt the Twitter-like way of doing things, but that’s just not part of Facebook’s traditional culture. I update Twitter all the time, Facebook–a few times a week–and that’s how I like it. I don’t expect Facebook to be the catch-all for all of my social networking needs. Diversity of web services is a good thing (in my opinion) and I’d like to see them respect that.

You can’t always listen to what your users want, because everyone wants something different. So you have to listen carefully, select the good ideas, and then execute them as flawlessly as possible. I think Facebook dropped the ball this time and needs to drastically reconsider the recent update. I’m a proponent of change, but it needs to be change with a definite direction and purpose. They’ve got the purpose: be like or better than “everyone else.” Now perhaps they just need a direction. The current “middle of the stream” approach just isn’t cutting it.

Listen to your users, Facebook. I think they’re serious this time.