By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine

You may have heard the buzz surrounding Facebook’s impending launch of the “timeline” profile. If not, get ready…it’s sure to take users to the next level in how we share information, make personal connections, and experience Facebook as a whole.

The timeline feature itself is described as an online scrapbook – “the story of your life” as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called it during his company’s f8 conference in San Francisco Thursday. Facebook fills in milestone events it knows from the existing profile information, such as your high school and college graduations, the start of your current job, the date of your wedding anniversary, etc. But you can take the timeline back further and fill in all your life events starting from when you were born, your first job, places you’ve traveled, or even when you purchased your house.

“Now REALTORS® who are friends with clients can help them mark those events – add photos in front of their new home, mark the date on their timeline,” said Brian Copeland, REALTOR® at Village Real Estate Services in Nashville and the national YPN Advisory Board chair. Plus, the new timeline feature is quick to navigate; in just a few clicks you can look at statuses, photos, or events from years past in your archived Facebook content.

Curious? While Facebook is planning to roll out timelines over the next couple of months, according to Chief Technology Officer Bret Taylor, those who want a jump start can add the new profile now by following these steps outlined by Mashable.

[As a side note, I just have to point out just how on fire Zuckerberg is: His net worth is now over $17.5 billion, up $10 billion from last year. And this week he landed 14th on the Forbes 400 list. ]

Yours truly downloaded the new profile today and my first impression was that it’s reminiscent of a WordPress blog template. A large “cover image” stretched the width of your profile header, which could easily serve as a branding tool for real estate pros, Copeland pointed out.

Another significant feature being added is the broadened integration of news, video, music and entertainment apps. Facebook has launched Open Graph for developers to create “seamless sharing” apps that add your activity to your timeline. For instance, say you’re streaming music through the app Spotify, if a friend sees you listening to a specific song in your timeline, they can click on it to start listening as well. Other apps that are integrated include Hulu, Netflix, Huffington Post, The Guardian, Nike, Runkeeper, Eventbrite, Ticketmaster, Foodspotting, iHeartRadio and many, many more.

The heightened integration of lifestyle apps magnifies a Facebook user’s life, which can be a double-edged sword to real estate folks when it comes to their business, Copeland said. “It can create connection or it can create distance.”

As with all social media enhancements, proceed with caution. Be authentic and true while using your best judgment about how you continue to build your online identity.

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