Merry Christmas! Facebook Timeline Has Finally Arrived!

Many people have been anxiously awaiting this newest feature of Facebook, while other people have been dreading it. Well, no matter your feelings, it's here! Facebook has made Timeline public and you can now get it all set up on your Facebook profile.

Facebook says that Timeline is a way to "tell your life story with a new kind of profile." Timeline consists of three specific sections:

Your Cover. This is going to be the first thing people see when they visit your profile, er, Timeline (I guess we can't call them profiles anymore). Facebook says to "Fill this wide, open space with a unique image that represents you best."

Your Stories. This is going to be where your most memorable posts, life events, and photos show up, based on what you want to share. I suppose we would call this the new profile stream. You will have control over what shows up on here, which I know was a major concern for a lot of people. Pretty sure you don't want that drunken status update on your best friend's birthday to show up as one of your most memorable posts. Have no fear - simply remove it from the page and you won't have to relive the horrors of that night any longer. However, you CAN star any posts that you want to make widescreen. So go ahead, make that picture of your cute dog widescreen. You know I am.

Your Apps. Facebook says that this section will hold "The movies you quote. The songs you have on repeat. The activities you love." These are the things that allow you to express who you truly are and show the world what you're made of. Might want to make sure that you're careful not to add that Wilson Phillips song that you have on repeat ... um, yeah ... I have no idea what you're talking about.

So, are you convinced yet? Are you ready to share your life story with the rest of the world? Well, if you're still a little skeptical, please note that:

1. Most of the security features will remain the same, so if you have your profile on lock down, you can also keep your Timeline locked down so creepy guys in Russia don't find you. Oh, wait. That's on Google+. Never mind. You're safe. Don't worry. According to Facebook, "Only the people you originally shared a post with can see it on your timeline. If you want, you can go back and change who sees a post, delete it or just hide it from your timeline." You can also go back and edit your Timeline once it's published, so if you see something that you didn't catch, you can fix it before your mom or your boss sees it. Hopefully.

2. You will have a chance to preview your Timeline for seven days before others can see it. That way, you can tweak it every day so that when it goes live, it is a perfect representation of you. Remove those embarrassing pictures and status updates and highlight those major achievements, like graduating college, getting a raise, or meeting your soul mate. Heck. If they're good enough, don't forget to star it so it goes widescreen!

Ready? Just go here and click "Get Timeline". It's the Green button at the bottom of the screen.

So, are you going to do it? Are you going to jump over into the Timeline abyss? They say once you switch, you'll never go back. Do tell ... will we see you there?

For some examples of famous people's Timelines, check out this page.

~JessicaE