Facebook unveiled a whole new host of changes that overhauls the social media giant's entire platform. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives debuted the enhancements at the company's developer conference, F8, held on March 25 and 26.
One of the big changes that will be coming into the platform involves the standalone Messenger app. The Facebook app will soon partner with select e-commerce sites for integrated processes. Facebook users can connect their account to the online market sites, and notifications about their purchases can be sent directly to the Messenger app. This way, users don't need to log in to their email accounts in order to track their packages. The integration will come in handy, too, as Messenger already allows money transfer options between friends, and the feature already proves helpful to those who are maintaining a Facebook page as their online e-commerce sites.
Soon, Facebook will also allow support for 360-degree videos, Google Maps-like camera technology, following Google-owned YouTube's lead. The technology allows viewers to change the perspective of the recorded video by clicking and dragging on the screen. Developers will also roll out an update wherein uploaded videos can be embedded directly into other sites, doing away with the current format of video sharing through links only.
Connectivity will also play a big part in the upcoming overhaul of the Facebook platform. The app partners with different media companies online such as Buzzfeed, Fox Sports, EliteDaily, and The Huffington Post to make user interactions connected. Users who comment and like posts on partner companies will have their interactions show up automatically on the story's Facebook link.
The company is also breaching into the world of IoT or the Internet of Things. Facebook developers are now building programs that control almost anything that touches a user's everyday life, from home entertainment systems to appliances.
