Here's Part II of my Nav updated ! (Go back and read yesterday's post if you haven't!) So everyone reacted very positively to the new nav, that's great news. Since the new nav has a lot of the standard commands in the drop downs (Compose, Inbox, Sent Mail, Friend Requests), that means we can take certain commands off the home page, and make the home page simpler. I've made a series of small modifications to the home page. Take a look here (click the pic to see a bigger version):

Here's a description of the small changes. I have notations on the pic above so you can follow along:

1. Note the new Nav up above. It will not show the "mood/status update" while you're on the homepage, since you can already update from home.

2. In the top right we've moved the date up and removed the "View my" links. Most of the items in "View my:" are now in the Profile menu drop down, but all of them can now be found under your user picture near position 3.

3. Near this area we have removed the graphic "control panel" and simplified the commands. This section, I think, was quite confusing before. It even took me some time to remember what some of the former links did. Now, the mail links and addressbook links in the control panel are moved under the Mail dropdown in the Nav. The Friend Requests link is now under Friends in the Nav.  Edit profile and Account Settings are now in the Nav. (Edit profile is also up top near your URL.) We've left the photo & video links under the user picture, and the manage calendar and blog links. Again the "view my" drop down covers everything you associated with your account from bulletin posts, to groups, to schools, to favorites. It's a catch all spot for all the things associated with your profile. The Nav "Profile" menu section contains only the key / popular ones like comments and pics.

4. There's a new application module (this is already on your homepage, but I've never mentioned it before). Apps let's you search for all the things you can add to your profile. People have been adding stuff to MySpace since we began, but we've never given you a way to search for them or automatically post them on your profile. That's changed with apps. Apps can also be designed for your home page, not just your profile. Which brings us to number 5.

5. Here's an example of an app on the home page profile. Apps are special features & utilities designed for MySpace and will depend on all the companies and developers that want to make them. This app "cities I've visited" lets you pick which cities you've been to, and read reviews about them from other users.

6. Because the home page can now be filled with various apps, we allow you to move them around and pick the order of the different modules & apps you want for your home page. Being able to move the modules is already live, though not many people have noticed it. It's a bit bare-bones right now. You can only open & close items and move them up and down. As the home page evolves, you'll be able to remove sections entirely, as well as move them to any of the three columns on the page. You won't be able to move the ads on the top right. We gotta pay the bills!

If you'd like to see what it looks like without the notations, here's the same home page in a clean version:

A lot to read and explain, but if you take the time to take a look, I think it's actually pretty simple. It makes the home page a lot more intuitive for new users and cleans up some of the bad choices I made when we made the new home page (sorry!!)  I know users don't like things to keep changing, but I think these changes make sense and will stick for a long time. Also, there will be more & more home page themes coming that you can apply to this page, to change the colors and graphics. Let me know what you think!