First, it’s how Facebook has undertaken its slow rollout that’s a big part of the problem. It’s one thing to unveil new features; it’s another to repeatedly tweak, move, replace, or rename existing features—in apparent ignorance of user habits and preferences. (It’s a third thing still to make your changes in misguided ways—e.g., the original News Feed/Live Feed terminology.)

Second—and not just post hoc, but also truly propter hoc—if the goal (as the article suggests) is to avoid upsetting customers, Facebook has clearly failed. I think the slow rollout strategy is part of the reason, though again, I think the Devil’s in the details in this case.

But, finally, I do think the article applies a lot more directly to the corporate website than it does to the likes of a Facebook. Facebook has the unfortunate position, among websites, of having the most users with the least technical expertise. So every change they make requires lots of “getting used to” for many of their users.

It’s sort of like what they tell science fiction writers: You have to establish the rules early, and then stick to them. Facebook keeps changing their own rules. Once or twice might be fine, but this is, what, the fourth or fifth major change in two years? Too much, too fast.

The Quiet Death of the Major Re-Launch.

Written in 2003.