The Facebook Diet

We have to admit, when we first heard about Facebook Lite, our hearts jumped. Could it be a return to simpler times? Could it be, finally, an alternative Facebook site for those of us who think the current feeds, apps, widgets, and whatnots aren't worth the migraine?

Well, don't get too excited. The answer is no. While the sign-in page hypes the beta site as a faster, easier way to "share your life with your friends and family," it is not, in fact, a return to the glory days of thefacebook.com. For better or worse, all the current features are still there (except for the ability to filter your home page's feed).

Instead, the site focuses on presentation, eliminating a lot of the noise on the sides of the screen and cranking up the font like those large print versions of books that your grandparents like. To reduce clutter, Facebook Lite erases many redundancies: For example, in regular Facebook, you can find your upcoming events on your home page, on your profile, and on the ever-present toolbar at the bottom of the browser. Get an invitation? Now there's an additional link to that on your home page. In Facebook Lite, there's just one big events button at the top.

One change we especially like is the way photo comments are next to pictures instead of under them. Not having to scroll down to see the thread makes for more efficient procrastination.

Considering how minor the differences are, though, we don't really see Facebook Lite taking off any time soon.