Facebook attained 500 million active users recently. At the same time, according to this report (PDF), Facebook’s customer satisfaction ratings are incredibly low. The report claims claims that users are most vexed by Facebook’s confusing privacy settings, among other factors. Among those other factors, the one that stood out to me is the complaint that Facebook changes their interface design too frequently.

Reading this, a counter-intuitive thought dawned on me: could it be that while users don’t react immediately well to Facebook’s interface changes, the change in interface ultimately helps to ensure users return to the site?

For example, think back upon this last year - one of the major Facebook interface changes tweaked the newsfeed to make it more competitive in usability to Twitter. While users ranted, the move represented a direct competitive maneuver against the little bird.

More generally speaking, people naturally respond positively when the places they frequent strive to maintain their relevance and freshness. We see this in such cases as popular and trendy bars and restaurants. When they first open, mobs of people gather to be seen and mingle. But over the course of months or years (depending on the city), most locales loose their relevance. Thus, smart restaurant owners are in a constant state of flow establishing new locations while simultaneously closing down older, less relevant ones.

Drastic interface changes to web properties might help accomplish the same effect. By refreshing its interface, Facebook might demonstrate to it’s users that it maintains itself as a relevant and thriving source for social interaction.

Update: NYTimes compares Facebook to a utility, and questions whether it should be regulated as such.