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At F8, Facebook announces Timeline

The world's leading social network is hosting its developers conference in San Francisco today. Onstage, the company unveils the new way users' "whole lives" are presented.

Daniel Terdiman Former Senior Writer / News
Daniel Terdiman is a senior writer at CNET News covering Twitter, Net culture, and everything in between.
Daniel Terdiman
2 min read

Mark Zuckerberg introduces Timeline at F8 2011.
Mark Zuckerberg introduces Timeline at F8 2011. James Martin/CNET

SAN FRANCISCO--Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Timeline at the F8 developers conference here today. Calling it "the story of your life," Zuckerberg said Timeline changes the way Facebook presents users' information. It presents "all your stories, all your apps, and a new way to express who you are," Zuckerberg said.

"It's a way to tell all the important stories from your life on a single page," Zuckerberg said.

The more you go back in your life, he added, the more Timeline will show what you've done. "It's how you can tell the whole story of your life on a single page.

Timeline features several new sections including visual tiles, ways to get all your apps, a cover photo, and ways to "express who you are."

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To be more precise, in Timeline, all a user's stories appear in the bottom left-hand side of the page, much like their existing Wall. On the right, there's a timeline that breaks down all posts from various points. And finally, there's a cover photo so you can "express who you are." The idea is that this allows users to jump back to their earliest Facebook posts.

Facebook unveils new look and feel (photos)

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Zuckerberg said that Timeline is already enabled for mobile devices.

In Timeline, you can see everything shared recently. Users can click on a year in the timeline, and it scrolls down to that year. Years will also get broken down by month. Users can roll their mouse over a point in time, and they instantly get the option to add photos, notes, and other items.

In addition, items in the Timeline will be posted on a map, so users can visually see what they've done. The map is by Bing, a result of the partnership between Facebook and Microsoft.

Watch this: Facebook launches new Timeline and media sharing