Facebook just rolled out a fairly significant change to users' home pages today.  

This isn't the first time this has happened, nor will it be the last.  However, this one feels different.  It feels worse.

The primary difference in the redesign is the 'featured stories' emphasis.  The prime real estate of the page is occupied by 'Recent Stories' and stories 'From Earlier Today".  These 'stories' are posts from my friends and the Pages I Like that Facebook deems to be most interesting to me.  Gone... or should I say pushed to the side... is the simple chronological feed of updates.   

In the past I haven't made much of a deal about Facebook redesigns - there's a period of resistance and opposition, but eventually people get used to it and move on.  But in this case things are different.  Facebook has decided that it will decide what's important to me.  

I'm not sure I like that.  

How do they know what's important to me?  And what gives them the right to show me just that?  I'm sure they know a lot about what's important to me based on the Pages I Like, the comments I post, and other clues.  But every once in a while I like to look at random things or read about topics that are new.  

Before this redesign it was quite clear that Facebook was collecting these 'Top Stories' as they were called, but I had the choice to toggle between 'Top Stories' or 'Most Recent', and each was given the same amount of attention.  Now, if I want the most recent, I have to scroll through the small, cramped window that's been dismissed to the corner.

Facebook, I don't agree with the liberties you have taken, nor with the implication that you know what I like.  

I only wish there was something I could do about it.

YOUR TURN:

What do you think?  Am I overreacting?  Will I just get used to the change like every one before this?