06 Jul Google Plus Launches, Facebook Fires Back with 3 "New" Features
Today’s latest announcement by Facebook was pretty short and sweet, and quite honestly felt a little like a knee jerk reaction to Google Plus. I’ve recapped the three main announcements covered in the presentation below, in case you missed it.
1. Group Chat
Facebook noted 1/2 of users use Facebook chat, which led them to expand the service to have group chat capabilities. Now users will have the ability to add multiple friends to a chat message, and if a friend is added to a chat when they are offline, that user will receive a summary of the dialog.
2. New Chat Design
Since the current chat design has always been slightly understated, Facebook has redesigned a new right-hand side bar (see below) that will scale with browser design to more prominently show you friends who are available and unavailable to chat. This makes the chat functionality larger, but the chat design on first view seemed very similar to the old design just a little larger.
3. Video Calling with Skype
Last but not least, Facebook officially showcased the partnership with Skype. This integration will allow users to navigate to profile pages and video call that particular person by activating a “Call” button. In the presentation, Facebook highlighted the video chat as “One click”, although a plugin download is necessary before starting the call for the first time.
One problem I see in this initial demonstration is the obtrusive experience of the video chat itself. Instead of allowing a person to multitask and enjoy the benefits of chatting with friends while still engaging on Facebook, the video demands your attention. I’m hoping the actual user experience is a little bit different than this.
When asked when group chatting will be rolled out, both Zuckerberg and Bates looked a bit ruffled, and reminded that the partnership nature of Skype and Facebook will help roll more features out in the future, including mention of Premium Skype features. However, now that Google Plus allows 10 people to video chat in hangouts, this new feature is already looking a bit outdated.
Conclusion
It’s clear from this announcement that Facebook is trying to differentiate itself against Google through new features, however it seemed a bit of a stretch. These new features aren’t groundbreakers, and the folks at Facebook are smart enough to know it. In fact, throughout the presentation Zuckerberg took punches at unnamed “internet companies” that try to build social infrastructure rather than building on or complementing an existing one. In the Q&A session, he even noted that one of the strongest drivers he sees in social media is the proliferation of apps as more companies and third-parties build social applications off of existing social infrastructures (in other words, Facebook).
One thing is certain: Facebook is relying now on its sheer size and the reliance of third-parties integrating into the network to buy more time to roll out more impressive new features.
What are your thoughts on today’s announcements? Were they as “awesome” as Zuckerberg promised?
