94% of Facebook users dislike a Twitter-like design

Personally I don't really mind the new Facebook layout. In fact I kinda like it, even if it cuts the breadth of news we see from our friends with its Twitter-like design. I know I'm in the minority when I say that, but I didn't realize just how small a minority it is.

Six percent. Ouch.

Techcrunch reports that a polling application on the site reports that 94% of users are against the new redesign.

Unfortunately Facebook has a history of making sweeping changes with little warning. Whether they be design changes or terms of service changes, they tend to shoot first and ask questions later.

I noticed a few things that might have lead to this sudden change:

1. Twitter turns down a big offer from Facebook.
2. Twitter is a media darling, and growing at an astonishing rate.
3. Facebook knows social network users can be fickle. Not too long ago, it was the scrappy upstart who would eventually surpass MySpace.
4. Rush to push a new site design that imitates many of Twitter's features.

Is this a sign that they're chasing ghosts, and that Twitter may not be a real threat if 94% of users dislike a Twitter-like design with fewer features?

Or, perhaps it's a sign that there is no one ring to rule them all - they can't be everything to everyone. Giving up what makes Facebook great to try and be like something else is a bad idea, even if that something else is pretty cool in its own right.