The Facebook Blog

Facebook's engineers thrive on innovation and experimentation. We're encouraged to work on projects that inspire us and build on new ideas, but not all of these features and improvements wind up launching on the site. In some instances, they're not quite ready for prime time, are a bit esoteric or don't quite fit. Now, for all the products that wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to see the light of day, we're introducing Facebook Prototypes.

Facebook Prototypes let us share the experimentation going on inside the walls of Facebook with the... rest of the world. You'll be able to test any of the products and features we launch as Facebook Prototypes and then provide feedback directly to those of us who built them. To access Prototypes, visit the Application Directory and filter by "Prototypes." From there, you can activate or download any of the Prototypes listed.

For instance, during a recent Hackathon — an all-night coding event that gives us a chance to build projects we just don't have time to pursue during regular hours — I worked on an application called Desktop Notifications, for Mac OS X. The application helps you keep up to date with what's happening on Facebook.

Already, you can see when people take actions on Facebook related to you through the notifications that appear at the bottom right corner of your browser or through email notifications — quickly check out a photo you've been tagged in, a new friend request or read a comment on your status update. Now, you can receive the same notifications even when you're not on Facebook.com or checking email by using Desktop Notifications.

After activating the application, you'll see a Facebook icon next to your computer's clock that will light up with a pop-up alert whenever you receive a new notification. When you click on the notification, you'll be taken directly to the action on Facebook in a new browser window. If you want to just read the notification without going to Facebook, you can dismiss the notification by waving your mouse over it. The application also keeps track of your Facebook messages and gives you an easy way to update your Facebook status.

Other Prototypes include Recent Comments Filter, which allows you to sort your News Feed by items on which your friends have recently commented; Photo Tag Search, which enables you to find photos by the people who are tagged in them; and Enhanced Events Emails, which allows you to add a Facebook Event directly to your personal calendar in Google, Microsoft Outlook and many other calendar products with just one click.



Keep in mind that Prototypes are exactly that — unfinished versions of products we're testing that may have some kinks to work out. Some Prototypes may eventually launch to everyone on Facebook and become part of the Facebook experience, while others may eventually be removed from the Prototypes directory all together. We won't test every new product in Prototypes before launch, but we're excited about testing new ideas regularly and often.

We already get a lot of suggestions for new features. Keep them coming. They just might get built.


Lee, a product designer, is using the prototype of Desktop Notifications to keep his finger on the Facebook pulse.

A few months ago, I was thinking about my mother when, at one of our engineering hackathons, I began working on ideas for how to highlight more of the important people in my life. You already could specify if you were in a romantic relationship with someone, so why not also be able to list your parents, children and siblings?

In celebration of Mother's Day on Sunday in the United States and many other countries, we decided to polish off that hackathon code and launch the option for listing your family on your Facebook profile.

Starting later... today and through this weekend, you'll begin seeing a new "Family Members" section within the Information tab on your profile. Enter your mother, for example, and she'll be added to your profile. She'll also be sent a request that appears similar to a relationship request. Once she confirms, you'll then appear on her profile, as well, and both of your profiles will be linked as shown below.



You can add as many immediate family members as you'd like, including parents, siblings and children. We also are considering an extended family section for the future. If your kids are too young to be on Facebook, you can still list them on your profile. If you include their birthdays, we'll even show their ages, too.



I'll be linking my profile with my mom's and other family members to show their significance in my life. My mom, Jing, joined Facebook a few months ago and has taken to following my updates in her News Feed. Now, whenever I post photos from dinner or a weekend trip to Napa, I can be sure she'll mention it the next time we talk on the phone. Connecting on Facebook has made it easier for us to keep updated on each others' daily lives.

If you haven't yet connected with your mom on Facebook, invite her to join and add her to your profile. By Sunday, you can also check out the Facebook Gift Shop, where we'll be offering Mother's Day-themed gifts you can send to your mom.

Julie, a designer at Facebook, is sending her mom a dinner invitation, a Facebook family request and a Facebook gift.