Obviously, the social component of the web is extremely important to both SEO and SEM professionals. Keeping track of the latest offerings from Twitter, Facebook, and Google is important to ensure that you won't miss out on the next big thing or at least be prepared when how we search, communicate and buy on the web possibly changes. Last week (Thursday, December 16), Facebook went out of service- very briefly and it came online to temporarily give users a quick look at just some of the new features Facebook is working on for the new year.

Possible New Features

While Facebook itself admitted that they inadvertently released a future prototype on the web, many users were able to view and experience this prototype during the 45 minutes which this leak occurred. Here are just some of the features that many are talking about around the web:

Switch Accounts: This feature is for page admins that handle more than one account. Obviously for those in SEO and SEM, this feature will be not only useful, but a real timesaver.

Memories: This feature is designed to help manage users' photos. For instance, you can save your photos by year so that you and your friends can easily access them. You may also be able to see how many friends you had during a specific year and other information.

Outside World: This looks to be a news filter to access information on your Facebook page. Many see it as a possible RSS feed integrated into your page.

Photos Lightbox UI: This feature lets users click on a photo, whether on your own page or others and a black box would appear where the photo would add simple navigational features and the ability to pull up social events for viewing.

Comment Button Removed: This feature makes it even easier to post a comment. The comment button which would normally have to be clicked for a comment to post now only requires the user to write a quick message and then press his/her enter key (return key).

New Page Design?

Besides finding a few features during the leak, many were able to see what the new page design might possibly be. As you probably know, Facebook recently released a new design just a few weeks ago, so who knows when or if this update will occur.

One of the biggest design changes was the fact that the new page had a tab-free design. In addition, the navigational aspects were now found on the left hand side of the page. These pages now are very similar to Facebook Places and member profile pages. Users also noticed that Question have been integrated within the page as well.

When Will These New Features Be Released

While Facebook let the cat out of the bag prematurely, they have stated that they do realize many users, businesses and partners that use Facebook to communicate with their community would receive adequate information and time before features such as these are released. So for SEO & SEM professionals, this seems to be a teaser of things to come. As always, knowing as much about the products that your potential customers use is paramount to communicating with them effectively, we'll continue to watch with a keen eye for any possible developments from the likes of Facebook, Twitter and other social networking giants.

You can view some of the images taken during this leak at the following url: http://www.promediacorp.com/2010/12/facebook-lets-users-login-as-page.