Facebook seems to be turning all its platforms into clones of Snapchat. Facebook Messenger now has the Stories feature from Snapchat. Facebook calls it ‘My Day.’ The social media giant added several new features in a not-so-subtle attempt to remind Snapchat of its ordeal four years ago. In 2013, Facebook failed to purchase the company for $3 billion. Since then, it has dedicated its time to replicating Snapchat’s greatest developments. Facebook credits Snapchat for making the Stories feature but says it's initiated its own visual content in response to what users are commonly doing on social media.
New features
Since Tuesday, Facebook has introduced these new features on Facebook Prime: Camera, 'My Day' and Direct. Facebook Camera adds in-app functions like Snapchat. The lenses rotate out based on date and location. Filters, stickers, and lenses will fill the interface if you swipe left or tap on the icons.
The camera goes together with the Messenger’s ‘My Day’ feature. Photos and videos last 24 hours before disappearing. They appear on a bar at the top of your feed, like Instagram. That bar is ranked by your interests in friends. If you frequent a few friends’ stories, they’ll always be pushed to the front of the bar. Only friends can see your Facebook Stories. Last, but not least, is Facebook’s direct messaging system.
It is also like Instagram. It allows you to view messages once in the system just like Snapchat as well.
Facebook's strategy
These latest additions serve as a clear visual indication that Facebook hasn’t settled on a strategy other than attempting to monopolize Snapchat and other platforms. Facebook has produced a remarkable empire thanks to just the News Feed alone for almost 10 years.
However, the News Feed can’t hold up as the only product Facebook can provide. It is clearly flawed from being a compilation of aggressive advertising, brand marketing and constant posts from people you probably haven’t even acknowledged for years.
For quite some time now, Facebook has expressed concern over the content collapse that stems from infusing school, work and personal life all into one social outlet.
This media network is definitely getting ready for the new age of vast web changes in the future. The new features added on Tuesday make it clear that Facebook hasn’t quite figured out an idea on what to do for the future besides providing the News Feed. However, it is brainstorming by adding to it everything else that’s on the stock market today.
