Facebook is currently hosting F8, its annual conference for developers. The first day of F8 was filled with announcements covering Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. And the headline has to be Facebook’s new redesign for 2019.
Facebook Changes Things Up for 2019
Facebook has redesigned the Facebook website and app. Visually, Facebook is being bleached, with the blue almost all gone, and a simpler, cleaner, and very white palette used instead. This makeover makes Facebook look more like Instagram.
Content-wise, the new Facebook is being built around two core components: Groups and Events. Groups is at the heart of the new Facebook, and represents Facebook trying to move away from the News Feed and make Facebook more about communities.
Facebook Wants You to Join New Groups
On the Facebook Newsroom, Facebook explains that while people use “Facebook to connect with friends and family […] it’s also a place to connect with people who share your interests and passions.” Which is why it’s putting Groups first.
There’s also a privacy element involved. While many people make their Facebook posts viewable to all and sundry, groups are more private. And with Mark Zuckerberg claiming Facebook is becoming a “more privacy-focused social platform” this is a crucial move.
Facebook is launching a redesigned Groups tab to help you find new groups. It will also plant group recommendations across other parts of the app. And introduce new features for specific types of group such as Job groups and Health Support groups.
Events is getting a new tab too. This will let you “see what’s happening around you, get recommendations, discover local businesses, and coordinate with friends to make plans to get together.” Which Facebook sees as another way of fostering communities.
Facebook Wants You to Meet New Friends
Facebook is also testing a new feature called Meet New Friends. This will “help people start friendships with new people from their shared communities like a school, workplace or city.” Meet New Friends is opt-in only and still a work in progress.
Facebook is rolling out the redesigned app for Android and iOS right now. The new desktop site will follow “in the next few months”. Which gives you time to check out the top social media apps you could (and probably should) be using instead of Facebook.
Image Credit: Marco Verch/Flickr
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