What did Facebook announce at F8? Here is what you should know
After suffering from just a tiny little bit of controversy for almost all of 2018, Facebook is ready to bounce back with some changes. During its F8 developer conference, Facebook had made several key announcements.
Since you have a life and didn’t sit through the presentation, here are some of the main Facebook announcements that grabbed the spotlight.
Newsfeed to Focus on Groups and Events
Instead of constantly watching what your friends are up, what they had for breakfast, and yet more blurry photos of their kids, Facebook wants to be more social. This is going to be done by focusing on whats happening in your Facebook Groups and seeing those highlights. This will be achieved via a groups tab that’ll show relevant updates from groups you’re a part of.
I hardly scroll through my timeline anymore but I do head straight into the Facebook groups as that is where I hang out, share knowledge, learn from other people etc.
Meet New People
A new feature will be added called Meet New Friends. Instead of following the people you went to school with, the girl from accounting, or those rad guys from your kid’s playgroup, you will be able to stalk a new set of people!
It works by helping connect people who may not know each other, but have things in common like going to the same school or working under the same boss. hmmmm….
Facebook Messenger Changes
Depending on where you are in the world, and what phone you have, you may or may not use Facebook Messenger as your favorite messaging app. The company is trying to change that with a few updates.
First of all, they plan to make it more personal by allowing us to add status messages and share photos with our closest friends. Insert BBM Flashbacks here….
Secondly, the iOS version of the app is getting an upgrade so that it takes up less space on your device. Handy since you can’t expand your iOS with a Micro SD card. Android users – not a problem.
A standalone desktop app is also coming to both Windows and Mac so no need to access Messenger via the web browser.
Instagram’s New Interface and No More Likes
Instagram’s camera is getting revamp! With a “Create Mode” you can share more “stuff” besides pictures and videos.
We can already see how Instagram is constantly being updated with new features such as quizzes and donations that you can add to your Insta Story. I can only assume that is well received and so these features will be expanded upon.
One major development is that Facebook is considering to hide the number of likes on a person’s Insta pic.
This is going to be interesting as it removes the Social Proof from images. In other words, if we see two ads for the same product. One has 1000 likes and 2000 comments and the other has none. We tend to see the one with likes and comments as legitimate and the other as a scam. This is because we tend to like things other people like. By removing the likes what will this do for Instagram influencers?
On the other hand, there is a tendency to place self-value on the number of likes/ followers/ subscribers. So removing this popularity meter is a good thing.
Canada is the lucky country that gets to test this feature and if it’s a success then it’ll be rolled out elsewhere. Why Canada? no idea.
Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S
Virtual Reality is becoming more of an affordable reality. The Oculus Quest and Rift S are VR headsets are self-contained units that replace external tracking cameras. Each costs $399 and they’ll start shipping in over 20 countries on the 21st of May.
Maybe now its time to get into VR?
Secret Crush
Who is your Secret Crush? Actually, this isn’t new as this was launched in 2018 but is now being made available to 14 more countries. For those who aren’t in the know, if you think one of your Facebook friends is attractive, you can add them to your list. If they’re using the service too and you’re on their list, then Facebook will connect you two letting you know that you match.
What can possibly go wrong?
Facebook Dating coming to US this year with new ‘Secret Crush’ feature.
Read more: https://t.co/LUlG0ucADJ#technology #datingapp pic.twitter.com/tlLlAu0YIT— Android Authority (@AndroidAuth) May 2, 2019
