Facebook is beta testing a faster, leaner version of the site called Facebook Lite. The idea is to minimize the amount of clutter and interactive widgets in order to improve page load times.
MySpace rolled out MySpace Lite a few months ago, considered by many to make MySpace a lot more like Facebook, right down to the navy blue color scheme:
What does it mean now that Facebook is at the same crossroads? It means that the balance between simplicity and content is still being waged across social networking. For all the simplicity of, say, a Twitter, users want the functionality of interactive content– whether it’s seeing the results of their friends’ latest online quiz results or simply to throw sheep at each other. The danger, of course, is in not turning into Yahoo, a site considered by many to suffer from excess clutter.
By offering a streamlined version, Facebook implicitly acknowledges significant differences among its users and– wisely –is providing them with the flexibility to choose the experience they want.
Facebook Begins Testing Facebook Lite, A Faster Simpler Version Of The Service .
