Facebook rolls out new features - USA Today

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Facebook on Wednesday launched several new features, including one that makes it easier for its 500 million members to separate online friendships into groups and another that lets them archive personal information posted on the website.The new groups feature began rolling out Wednesday and will spread to the company's entire user base "relatively quickly," according to Facebook.

"We're not being hyperbolic when we say (groups) is going to be a fundamental shift in how people use Facebook," company CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during a press conference that was his first public appearance since last Friday's opening of The Social Network, the blockbuster movie tracing Facebook's origins.

Zuckerberg told reporters he wouldn't comment on the critically acclaimed film, which depicts him as brilliant yet socially awkward and manipulative. Zuckerberg has called the movie an "inaccurate" account of the 6-year-old company's beginnings.

The new grouping feature is designed to share comments, photos and other links with others based on relationships and interests. For instance, you can now group Facebook friends by family, work, sports teams and college.

Zuckerberg said hundreds can be in a group, but it is ideally suited for 20 to 25 people. The function lets users leave groups.

Facebook had offered a way to create groups through a "lists" feature. But only about 5% of its members use it. "No one wants to make lists," Zuckerberg said.

Now, "You can order your life by groups," Chris Cox, Facebook's vice president of product, said in an interview. "We're not building a social product but a social platform."

Radar Research analyst Marissa Gluck says Facebook has "struggled" to find a balance between users' control of their information and simplicity. Groups, she says, is a positive first step.

Separately, Facebook introduced a tool for people to download digital copies of all their personal information on the site. It also unfurled a dashboard to track games, quizzes and other applications distributed on Facebook.

Facebook's announcements caught many reporters and analysts by surprise.

Buildup to the event had centered on several rumors, including a redesign of the Facebook site or a deal with Internet telephone leader Skype to mesh their communications services more closely together. Under such a potential partnership, Facebook users would be able to sign into Skype through their Facebook Connect accounts.

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