Hey Facebook, Is It Time(line) Yet?

Over a month ago, Facebook announced the most expansive and innovative update to its site to-date: Facebook Timeline. However, the general public has yet to experience this new update for itself (at least those users who haven’t already gone out of their way to add the new layout to their profiles). While Facebook has hinted at multiple release dates over the course of the past month or so, the redesigned profiles have yet to become official, which has some people asking what the hold up is about.

For anyone who has kept on top of Facebook news since the social network’s f8 conference, it’s no secret that Facebook Timeline has fewer fans than the company anticipated it would. Given Facebook’s poor track record of user-pleasing platform updates though, it’s really no surprise that the general sentiment towards Timeline was less than positive. This time, however, it’s another web company that is possibly the most displeased opponent of Facebook’s new update.

Timelines.com is suing Facebook for the exact same thing that Facebook has gone after a variety of other companies for: using a term that it feels is directly tied to the branding of its company and is therefore off limits for all others to use. While it may be safe to speculate that Facebook will eventually make this matter fade into the past, a pending lawsuit could be the very thing that is tying up the release date of Facebook’s new profile layout. So, until this legal matter is cleared up in court or some sort of settlement is reached, Facebook Timeline will continue to sit on the shelf, waiting to be made available to the public, whether with open arms or not.

As far as legal Internet marketing campaigns are concerned, any updates to Facebook’s site should be examined, learned about, and utilized in whatever ways possible to help market one’s brand. In the meantime, the best strategy to maintain in regards to Facebook should be to maintain a complete and active profile. That is, if Facebook gives you an opportunity to reveal information about yourself, use it. That way, once the Timeline update does take place, you won’t have to worry about completing your new-look profile, but will merely have to embrace it, continue to be an active participant on it, and look for ways to help promote your company’s message.