Facebook’s annual F8 conference brought about several proposed changes to the social media app’s interface, along with the rest of its family of apps, including; WhatsApp, Instagram and messenger.
What’s on the horizon?
Instagram’s trying to tackle the fight with society against the on-going pressures of being ‘liked’. It’s been wildly publicised that many teenagers now experience virtual peer pressure through the platform and are in a constant conformity battle. In an attempt to alleviate the popularity contest, Instagram are planning to demote ‘likes’ for certain users. As we understand it, a list of users will still be shown who engaged with the content, but the vanity metrics itself won’t be visible.
Facebook’s focus on bringing groups to the forefront of their app experience, in line with the company’s mission statement ‘Bring the world closer together’ New functionality will now show algorithmic recommendations for new groups to join. “It has a much bigger focus on communities and making communities as central as friends,” Zuckerberg said.
Step-up for influencer marketing? Brands & creators will now also be able to sell products directly on their grid, making the shopping experience even more seamless for the 1 billion users of Instagram. Brands will no doubt look to leverage this new, frictionless functionality with their brand ambassadors.
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Last but not least, Facebook dating: ‘Secret crush’ this Tinder-style approach will allow users to see which of their friends may be romantically interested in you. Upon opting in this service, users will be able to select up to 9 friends in their ‘secret crush list’ if that is reciprocated then it’s a match! Although a small part of the overall Facebook service, it will be interesting to see if Facebook continue to pursuit further into the dating space, given the sheer volume of daily-active-users, it appears to be a smart move. After all, Zuckerberg knew that adding a ‘relationship status’ in the early days of his creation back in his Harvard dorm would be a popular feature.
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