Although social sharing platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare have gradually continued to evolve over the past year or so, it wasn’t until a few months ago that two of the biggest competitors (Google+ and Facebook) began creating some pretty gnarly waves in the social atmosphere.

Naturally, Google’s announcement that it would be re-entering the arena after several failed attempts (Buzz and Wave) was not very surprising, there’s little Google isn’t experimenting with at the moment and using Google+ as a springboard towards social search is a no-brainer for the company. What is surprising, however, are the changes coming from Facebook in the past few months. Either in response to Google’s looming presence or something that was pre-destined (perhaps both), Facebook has made its own wave of minor changes (Smart Lists, Subscribe button, Ticker Feed) with something pretty massive on the horizon.

That “something” is called Timeline and it is Facebook’s upcoming makeover (inspired by infographic guru Nicholas Felton) which has become quite the buzz-worthy topic of conversation among industry blogs and left many split in their opinion of it. On the positive side people are calling it “a richer, more immersive social experience than ever,” while others fear that the “massive makeover might just be a bit too much.” After experiencing Timeline firsthand I have to admit that it takes more than a little adjustment to get used to the dual column layout.

Beyond the aesthetics of the new look, Timeline puts a greater focus on user’s personal history (with an emphasis on the story part). Instead of just being able to “Like” things, Timeline will use third party apps such as Spotify, Netflix and others to track your taste in movies, music and perhaps even gaming habits. News Feeds, which are currently at the core of Facebook, will be transitioned over to the Twitter-esque Ticker feed located on the right sidebar where the Chat feature resides.