Yesterday I wrote a post about Facebook Lite being available for Facebook users in the US and India. I checked out Facebook Lite and was quite impressed with it. So I decided to compare the two. I wonder with Facebook Lite being available, does the normal Facebook become Facebook Heavy? ;-)

facebook_lite

What is different?

  • Facebook has many applications and quizzes you can take part in. The annoying invites or requests from your Facebook Friends do not show up on Lite.
  • Facebook Lite allows you access to your Profile (the image to the left is when I clicked on Profile for my account with Lite), Events and Inbox but has no access to any applications.
  • I can add friends and also delete them from Facebook Lite but cannot categorise my friends list and organise them into Work, School etc. This might be a concern for users who many friends on Facebook and prefer to send messages and mails using the groups.
  • Lack of access and updates to Facebook applications was obviously expected but the surprise is that it allows me to post photos and videos and honestly that is more than what I expected out of Facebook Lite.

Applications V/s Simplicity Argument

I agree a lot of us use applications and games on Facebook which is not possible with Facebook Lite. But I took a quick poll in at my workplace amongst my colleagues who were on Facebook for more than a six months and over 66% said that they did not use applications on Facebook at all.

The sample size even though not considerable or scientific clearly shows that a overwhelming majority might prefer to use Facebook Lite than its usual version.

Issues with Settings and Registration

Currently Facebook Lite doesn’t allow to make any changes to its Settings and Privacy options. It also does not allow users to directly sign up for Facebook with Facebook Lite. I think this is only a temporary issue and sooner than later these two issue will be resolved.

I like this new innovation by Facebook and my prediction is that the Lite version will be the most used or become the default version and there will be tabs or options to activate applications if needed. Facebook is rumoured to come out with a IPO next year which will increase its funding and Facebook Lite seems to be a great way to increase its user-base before they start investing in further innovations.

I use twitter a lot and find it fun and enjoyable. I certainly think that Twitter should start worrying! :-P

Links: Facebook Lite | Facebook

Related Post : How to switch back to Facebook from Facebook Lite?