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Facebook Timeline goes live worldwide

 (CBS) - Don't expect to get any work done today. Facebook announced this morning, the roll out of its much anticipated Timeline for users worldwide.

 

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Not ready for change? No need to panic. A Facebook spokesperson told me, the opt-in period will last "a few weeks." Once activated, there's a seven day review period, where you can go through your profile and hide or delete unwanted posts. If you're feeling brave, you can publish your timeline now.

It's worth the effort to go through your posts, if you are image conscious. Timeline is going live in a few weeks, whether or not you activate it.

Hiding stories is simple enough. Select the pen on the top corner of a post and options will pop up, like hide a post or disable an app. You can also change the date or location of events.

Extroverts can feature a story by clicking on the star. Posts will expand and turn into a single column. It's a beautiful way to highlight a photograph. However, I wouldn't recommend it for articles, Foursquare or status updates.

There are still a few quirks Facebook needs to work out. Photos in the timeline don't always scale properly. And spacing is sometimes awkward due to the nature of mixed size of boxes.

One of the interesting, and sort of creepy, features worth exploring is your activity log. It's a rundown of everything you've ever done on Facebook and shows how you're sharing a particular post. Don't worry, it can only be seen by you.

Facebook introduced the world to Timeline in September, promising a rollout quickly. Months passed and many of us scratched our heads, wondering what happened to the hyped up re-design.

"Our intention has always been to launch the product as soon as we feel it's ready," a Facebook spokesperson told me via email.

Like it or not, there's no doubt this update is a conversation starter. Get the new feature by going to the Introducing Timeline page

Edited for opt-in period of timeline.

 

 
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