Facebook Profile Changes: What You Should Know

Dec. 6, 2010— -- Are you ready for Facebook's newest look?

The social networking site took the wraps off its newly designed profile page Sunday, which it will start rolling out to members today.

In a blog post Sunday, Facebook said its changes were intended to make it "even easier for you to tell your story and learn about your friends."

The new profile design highlights members' relationships, schools, employers, along with other bits of personal information. And it displays a member's content in a more visual format.

Instead of listing biographical information under the profile picture on the left, the new design places the information at the top of the page. A row of recently tagged photographs will appear below a brief bio.

Facebook also gives members the option of highlighting specific categories of Facebook friends, such as family members, best friends, teammates, work friends. And it makes it easier to view the history of a Facebook friendship.

New Facebook Profile Design Highlights Friend Histories

Instead of only showing members' mutual friends (now on the right, instead of the left), the site will now link to a separate page that includes all the comments, pictures and online information shared between two friends.

If you want to draw attention to professional accomplishments and specific projects you've been a part of at work, the new profile page gives you the option to list those experiences.

A member's "wall" and "info" now appear on the left, under the member's profile picture, instead of in tabs across the top of the page.

The new page also gives Facebook's "poke" button more prominence, placing it at the top right of the page, right next to the "send message" button.

For early adopters who want to get a jump on the new design, Facebook includes directions on how to switch over.

But once you upgrade to the new design, Facebook explains, there's no turning back.

Facebook unveiled the new changes hours before CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared in an interview on CBS's "60 Minutes."

Zuckerberg Dishes on Movie About Facebook's Origin

Explaining why the new design includes friends' histories, Zuckerberg said, "You can see all the things that you have in common with that person. ... It gives you this amazing connection with that person in a way that the current version of the profile that we have today just doesn't do."

The 26-year-old CEO used his time on "60 Minutes" not only to explain Facebook's new design but also to answer questions about "The Social Network," the recent movie about his company's beginnings.

He said that while the movie managed to accurately depict his character's wardrobe ("I think I actually own those shirts," he said), it missed several key points about his life and Facebook's origin.

While the movie projected a Zuckerberg motivated by a desire to win over the opposite sex, he said, "they completely left out the fact that my girlfriend, I've been dating since before I started Facebook."

When asked about an initial public offering in Facebook's future, Zuckerberg said, "maybe."

"A lot of people who I think build startups or companies think that selling the company or going public is this endpoint," he said. "Right, it's like you win when you go public. And that's just not how I see it."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.