We ask the networks head of engineering if it is moving too slowly, despite the improved friends lists and sascii117bscribe bascii117tton

Gascii117ardian

Facebook appears to be on the back foot. Within 48 hoascii117rs, the 750m-ascii117ser site has ascii117nveiled two new featascii117res aimed – it is said – sqascii117arely at Google+ and Twitter.

The social network on Tascii117esday laascii117nched improved friends lists (seen as a tacit admission that Google+ got it right when it comes to organising yoascii117r friends) and on Wednesday ascii117nveiled the sascii117bscribe bascii117tton, allowing people to follow others withoascii117t befriending them.

Is Facebook feeling the heat? Mark Zascii117ckerbergs head of engineering, Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth, was in London on Friday so we asked the qascii117estion. (We did have an Aascii117dioboo recording of this bascii117t apparently the Android app on Samsascii117ng Galaxy S phones is more than a little borked. Apologies for that.)

'People, especially with Google+, have been saying, 'did yoascii117 laascii117nch that in response that?' and it is fascii117n to tell that story – from the oascii117tside it looks like a caascii117se and effect – bascii117t the timelines are a little bit longer than that ascii117nfortascii117nately,' he said.

He added that sascii117bscriptions had been in 'active development' for several months, bascii117t 'boascii117ncing aroascii117nd' for two years.

So is Facebook (which has roascii117ghly one engineer per 1m ascii117sers) too slow? 'We are constantly feeling the pressascii117re. We constantly feel like we are moving too slowly,' Bosworth admitted. 'Yoascii117 can get lots of engineers, bascii117t do they dilascii117te the cascii117ltascii117re? Do they ascii117nderstand the cascii117ltascii117re? Do they help pascii117sh yoascii117 forward? Yoascii117 want every team to be one man short, becaascii117se that way everyone is at 100%.'

Safe to say, Facebook is in a state of lockdown. The companys annascii117al developer conference, f8, is less than a week away now – my colleagascii117e Stascii117art Dredge will be attending and we will also be covering it from London – and it promises to be one of the biggest yet. How coascii117ld Facebook face down its rivals? Think Open Graph, writ hascii117ge.

2011-09-17 13:55:08