Facebook Timeline, Finally!

Well it’s about time(line)! After months of legal battles over trademark use of the name “timeline” Facebook is finally ready to unleash Timeline worldwide. Are you ready for it?

The rollout began last week, in New Zealand of all places. Today Facebook announced the rest of the world will finally get the chance to experience what only developers have been able to enjoy over the past few months.

In case you’ve forgot, it was September that Facebook revealed the new radical change to the social network. Timeline first demoed to developers, but then failed to launch for everyone else.

I’ve been using Timeline for a few months and like I’ve said before, it does have some initial appeal. Taking a trip down memory lane makes for a fun night, and is very easy to do. But it was a one hit wonder for me. The trip was taken and now it’s just business as usual for me on Facebook.

The rollout will happen to you all throughout the day. For those of you who have been uber anxious to turn back time over the last three months, head on over to the Facebook Timeline page and click on “Get It Now” to expedite the process.

Once activated you get a 7 days to tidy things up—a spring cleaning.  If there are some bad pictures from past holiday parties or status updates over loves gone sour, now’s your chance to remove them. After 7 days, the new profile goes live and everyone will be able to view the story of your (Facebook) life as you’ve laid it out. If you’re fine with things as is, you can push it live earlier if you wish.

With that in mind, it is crucial that you check your privacy settings. Timeline makes it very easy for anyone to quickly see all of your personal info, no digging needed. It just takes a few clicks and someone can view any month of any year of your life (that you’ve been on Facebook).

Also continue think before you click. Hackers are just as excited for this new feature as it will make their jobs a lot easier if your account gets hijacked.

Love it or hate it, Timeline is here. And unlike the story of your life, you can’t change this on your timeline.