With all of the commotion surrounding the Facebook IPO, it’s easy to forget that the website is still about connecting people and letting others know about you and your life. Facebook’s big day prompted an all-night hackathon celebration for the company, but it seems that when it comes to working on the world’s largest social network, it’s business as usual. The company is testing new features for its site, including a “Highlights” program that allows users to pay for higher placement on their Friends’ News Feeds and a new design for some users’ Timeline profile information.

The new design, which can be seen above, was spotted by the German website AllFacebook.de. It moves the Timeline profile pic a little to the left to make room for some other info. The name, job, school, and location of a user are moved up and displayed on top of the Timeline cover photo. The “Subscribe” and “Message” buttons (or “Update” and “Activity Log,” if it is your own page) are also moved up to the cover photo overlay. Instead of the bulky icons below the current profile, the photos, map, and “likes” links are collapsed into more discrete links. Also, because the new overlaid text is white, a gradient is applied to the cover photo so that the text is legible.

The new design makes Timeline profiles look a bit more elegant, and consolidates things so that users can more quickly see actual Timeline items. The changes, however, might not make those who enjoy having fun with their Timeline pic and cover photo very happy. Or, it could spark some new creativity from those pranksters.

The changes have not hit many users’ Timelines, and Facebook has not officially announced any changes. It is still unclear whether, like “Highlights,” this is an experiment or a prelude to rollout.

(Screenshots courtesy AllFacebook.de)
(via AllFacebook)