As an avid Facebookie as well as a techie, I love fiddling around the features of Facebook that continue to delight me yet disappoint me but occasionally on the constantly improvised design changes (business rules in technical terms).
At times, the features get so utterly intimidating for first time users, that with so many cool features they still want to stick to their good ol’ social networks. I feel I should have been the brand ambassador for Facebook already for encouraging so many of my friends, rather dragging them to use Facebook. After all who doesn’t like the LIKE to be hit and comments/compliments to be registered!
I thought of putting down the stuffs I discover, for there are times when I searched a few requirements on my Facebook profile on google and do not find the proper result to guide me.
So, here are few tips on how to publish your profile picture on your wall.
[Latest update – 06/30/2012]
Just change your profile picture, rest is taken care by FB. Your pic appears on other’s feeds/homepage with a bigger image as “[XYZ] changed her profile picture“. No publishing needed anymore.
[Update – 06/28/2012]
You don’t have to do any publish than just uploading you profile picture, and then add a comment/reply to someone’s comment beneath your picture. As soon as you comment, it goes onto others’ Tickers and appears on their homepage as “<Your name> also commented on his picture….(with the picture on their homepage/feeds)”
[Update- 10/22/2011]
At least now FB realized what pain in the butt it is for people to ‘Like’ ur DP by following FOUR steps:
1. See notification on homepage of DP change in thumbnails.
2. Go to his/her Profile.
3. Click on Profile Pictures to view the album
4. Click on the specific pic U wish to like…..There U go!
Now it simply appears on their homepage as you comment. So more likes. And u feel good. 🙂
[Update- 06/13/2010]
New profile pictures, right from the DP (Display Picture) do not publish anymore. This feature, I’m afraid has been called off by Facebook. (or may be a bug on FB’s part of late but highly unlikely) This is noticeable after the latest change on live-feed notifications on Profile Pictures change from your friends and friendship-requested ones.
However, there are ways to publish the same photo on your wall. i.e.
1. The “alternative” way given above – click “Post Album to Profile” (mentioned in the above pic.) (Now appears in the leftmost corner, at the bottom of the Profile Picture album)
2. Tag the Profile Picture with your facebook user name so that the update is instantly sent as a feed to your friends who are instead directed to your profile picture, once clicked.
How it was when it all started:
There are a couple of ways to set your profile picture on Facebook.
1. Set one right from your album
2. Click on “Profile Pictures” album> Change Profile Picture
3. Click on ‘Change Picture’ straight on your already set or to be set Profile Picture of your personal profile. Browse and upload.
While the first two options would work in case you already have photos/albums in your profile, the 3rd way is the one if you are new to Facebook.
And Voilà! The 3rd way is the only option right now to “publish” your profile picture on your wall. You can choose to skip as per your wish! The description for publishing is set as the caption!
Alternatively, if you wish to publish your entire album along with the Profile Picture, below is the screen-shot to refer but the picture on the post changes to your current profile picture set. So, your friends would have “liked” or commented on the post referring Pic A, but you would have changed to Pic B now. Hence, inapt comments for an apt picture 😉
Did this help? Btw, Happy Publishing! 🙂
Please do let me know if you have any questions or issues on this.
~~Biswajeet's Blog~~ 
I’m having a problem, when i upload my profile, i would like my friends to see it on there news feed (publish it). After I upload a picture (clicking the “change picture” selection when i hover over my profile picture) it would ask me to publish to my wall with a caption statement. It’s not doing this anymore..is it because my photo is too big? its 1.2 mb
Hi Solo,
My blog post is updated with comments as of 13th June on the same issue.(at the end of this post) U r right on the way U wished to publish(size doesnt matter -fb compresses). Unfortunately, after the changes made to the newsfeed features wrt Profile Pics…i.e. U see all people who hav changed DP now in thumbnails, this feature of publishing on the wall has been called off.
As I said at the outset, FB biz rules continue to fascinate me n disappoint me at the same time. But nvm, I think they’re aware of the issue. We could participate and post our suggestions in the discussion forums of FB. It might just be invoked again.
In the meanwhile, pls try the alternativ way I mentioned above.
I miss the feature as much as u do 😦
I would like it NOT to show in the news feed! I would love to change my picture and not get any attention for it at all. Is that possible nowadays?
Try making ur Profile Pictures album privacy to “Only Me”.
Hey,
So, has facebook recently stopped this feature to publish photos to your wall? And you can’t even do it anymore?
😦 😦 😦
Hi Maham,
Unfortunately yes. 😦
But U can still publish pics from ur albums. Just that my suggested way to publish right from ur DP doesn’t work anymore. We just have to wait if FB re-invokes the same feature again.
However, U can publish ur profile pic in the alternative way given on my post above.
Cheers.
Hey Vishy, I seen a couple of helpful tips you wrote about Facebook and I was wondering if you could help with this question:
How do you post newly updated facebook profile pictures to your actual wall? Do you have to make a profile pictures album? So, whenever you add a new picture, it’ll post on your wall like it does all other albums?
FB has changed many things around. I remember when I used to go and update my profile picture, a prompter would pop up and it would ask me if I wanted it to be posted to my wall and my friends’ home pages. Sadly, It doesn’t do that anymore…:(
The latest change done by facebook is unworthy and it doesn’t publish your profile picture automatically which is why people cannot or do not bother to comment or like as before.
I wish you to participate this discussion and bring in your friends and join this discussion – http://www.facebook.com/help/?question=613993
And also, you can join this page as I have joined too – http://www.facebook.com/pages/To-FB-Publish-Our-Profile-Picture-Automatically/131188343568567,
with the only hope that it reaches the feeds of some FB developers or BAs who get to notice this.
Hi Vishy,
I want to publish a motion pic in my FB profile. A picture which wud change its position and color automatically every now and then. Please get back to me asap as this is very urgent or else there will b high level escalation on you.
Cheers,
Amit
Dear Amit,
Appreciate your expectation from me but facebook hasn’t been paying me a single penny yet. I am a freelancer. And for ur above requirement, already people have been uploading .GIF images as DP and for a motion picture(video) I’ll have to apply for a job in Facebook 😛
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I cant publish too.. although i follow what you show..
Teach me how!!!! Thx!
Hi Ss,
Pls read the update. There’s no way U cud do it anymore but I hav mentioned an alternate way to do it. Pls read it till d end.
that’s mean we can publish our photo anymore?
and only can use share album?
@Ss: Well, yes ur understanding is correct. we cant publish our photo anymore from Profile Pictures album. We can howver tag ourselves to d same pic if u wish to gain traffic onto tht pic. But U cant publish while U upload.
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Thank you for posting that. I only just realized I couldn’t publish my profile picture to facebook… shows how behind the times I am!! LOL I’m actually glad you can’t do that anymore- some people change their profile pictures sooo often, I get extremely annoyed!
Hi, so i really dont understand how to change this. I want to upload a picture that i know, i want to b my profile picture. So i go on where i time my status and hit – upload picture- browse….etc. then the photo shoes up on my wall and instantly goes to the album “wall photos”. then i make it my profile pic. from there. HOWEVER everybody always likes and comment on the picture that is in the album “wall photos” and when people click on my “profile pics” that same pic is there with no comments or likes… 😦 i dont know how to get that picture with all of its comments and likes , into my profile pictures album?!?! plz help! thankss
@Madison: I get your issue here. That’s not the correct way to set ur Profile Pic anymore. Not only from ur wall photos but Fb provides U option to set ur profile pic from any album. So, if you just wish to get all the traffic into your profile pics and in the Profile Pictures album, then here’s is what you gotta follow while uploading:
1. On your current DP (profile pic), hover ur mouse to get “Change Picture”. Click on it.
2. Now U get the Edit Profile page where U have an option to “Browse”. So here U can set any pic from ur system and set it to your DP. That’s it!
3. Additionally, in the same page (Edit Picture) you can notice “Edit Thumbnail” after setting your picture.
Hope this helps. Lemme know if u still dint get it.
If you are looking for an alternative solution please check this post http://www.cedricve.me/blog/2011/07/29/how-do-you-postpublish-news-from-your-website-on-a-facebook-wall/
FACEBOOK – WANTING MY PROFILE PHOTO UPDATES TO BE INCLUDED ON MY PROFILES WALL TIMELINE?
When I change my profile photo, a notification on my wall timeline does not show, how do I change this so it comes up on my wall and in newsfeeds (like what my friends have)?
I have scrolled all the way down on my wall and clicked on ‘edit options’ but it tells me that I have not hidden anything, so I don’t know what to do! is there any way to fix this?
Hey Anita,
Can U go to Profile pics album and check if visibility is set to “only you” in the custom settings? Let me know.
Hi. When I go to albums, Profile Pictures, it says “Friends: Except; Restricted”. Thanks
M not sure really then..could be a bug. But I can suggest a few workarounds:
– Set it to “Friends of Friends/Public” for sometime n check (by changind DP, or putting a new DP) if u get wht u wanted. If it works, then set it to Only “friends”.
– Else, deactivate ur profile for an hr, n log in again. Change/upload new DP n see if it works.
Still doesn’t..? Say FB sucks…n accept the shit if U can’t ignore. 🙂
hey biswajeet,
i just hope if you could answer my query which is now becoming a pain in neck…….few days ago whenever i would change my dp,i would tag myself and my freinds could see the pics but now when i tag myself in my dp it gets posted on only my profile but not on my freind’s wall and i noticed one mre change that earlier these dpz used to provide me with an option(share with) but now it has miraculously turned into(shared with freinds) and doesn’t even change……i m lookin forward to ur reply…
Mark keeps changing FB. We gotto get used to it, I have stopped writing blogs on fb. I do not think your own tag goes to other’s wall anymore. As per new changes, once u commnt on ur dp, it sits on other’s feed, n solves ur purpose what a tag or publish used to do.
Now, the share you wish to have can be achieved by “copying the url” of the dp (when it loads up in the white lightbox) n pasting it on the wall “what’s on ur mind” box. U’ll notice a preview, then u can remove the url, n click share. it’ll b posted. hope that answers. 🙂
Well on my case I have a photo that I already have on my album “wall photos” and I want that photo, with all its comments and likes, to be my profile photo. The problem is that facebook doesn’t allow me do that, it only lets me use the same photo if I cut it. That makes it in another photo with nothing.
Help me please!
Daneil,
I understand what you require but FB doesnt allow you duplicates (i.e. along with likes and comments). So, that’s treated as an entire new picture. Sorry, can’t help you with this. But will update my blog lest I get any clues.
how do i make a picture in one of my albums as my dp without erasing off the comments or the likes on it?!
Rasha, please check the comment above.
I seriously don’t get the last update you came with. Please help me!!!
Ok, with the latest changes. I am sure you wont get what I have written cuz I myself dont get that update of mine. Dementia, I guess! 😉
No worries, I’ll come up with yet another update sometime tomorrow that’s in-thing with FB these days. Be hooked! 🙂
Hey Aske, check out the latest update. Now it’s in a reverse chronological order.
Hey vish……so i was kinda having the same problem…….whenever i upload a pro pic……absolutely NOTHING pops up…..as in not on my wall….or the fb news feed…..hoe do i change it??????i want it published…
Hey Tasha,
Check out my latest update. Just change your profile picture, rest is taken care by FB. Your pic appears on other’s feeds/homepage with a bigger image as “[XYZ] changed her profile picture“. No publishing needed anymore.
no…..mine doesnt…..it just comes up on my profile wall…..not on the news feed….what’s wrong with it???
Anything that sits on ur wall will show up on newsfeed of ur friends except if u made the post as “Only Me”. Login with ur friend’s a/c n check his/her newsfeed. It sud appear.
I edited a new album and cannot find where to share. I’ve tried updating date to current date, hitting SHARE button but that only gives me link to share with friends, and even changing SECURITY setting. How do I share or publish entire album on FB with this new timeline? HELP!
Dear Gaynor,
U’re pretty close to ur mission. The link you get to share with friends…that’s actually a public link. Just take note of this link, and then simply copy paste on your rich textbox on you wall (which is generally used for status update). Then there will be a preview generated and U can control the privacy of that link again. If U wish ur friends to see the album, then U may choose the privacy of album accordingly after that.
Hope that answers. Feel free to revert in case U dint get it.
It worked…yah!! Thanks!!!!!
Hi, I have a problem?
I posted a new profile picture and its supposed to appear on my timeline like you said in the latest update but it doesnt appear?
Please help me out. =(
Hey Gwen, it must have appeared but here’s what U gotta check. Scroll down ur Time Line and check where it is sitting (FB has this annoying feature of “XYZ added a photo to ABC album” with an old timestamp). Do one thing – go to Profile Pictures album, click ‘Edit’, change Uploaded date to your regional Current Datetime – MM/dd/YYYY hh:mm:ss
Update to the extent of exact minutes, if u’re not getting, then take the latest that’s appearing in edit features. U’re profile picture will appear on top of ur timeline. Let me know if this helps!
It worked!!! OMG, thank you so much, =)
But it’s just a added a photo? Its no longer changed her profile picture??
No, once U upload into Profile Pictures album or click on upload, it will “add into Album” but change the picture in the profile.
My friend always updates her facebook profile picture. Its the same one and she keeps all her likes and comments. How? You may have said it and i missed it haha
Thanks so much all of you 🙂
Hey! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this
post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this.
I will forward this page to him. Pretty sure he will have
a good read. Thanks for sharing!