Facebook held their annual F8 developer conference this week in San Francisco. Mark Zuckerberg opened the conference with a bit of a dig at Donald Trump’s wall building comments:

“Instead of building walls we can help build bridges. Instead of dividing people we can connect people. We do it one person at a time, one connection at time. That’s why I think the work we’re doing together is more important than it has even been before.” – Mark Zuckerberg
 
Here are a few of the updates that were announced:

 

Analytics for Apps (updates)

Launched last year, the updates to Analytics for Apps give application developers more insight into the demographic of their users. This includes user age ranges, and insight into the times users tend to make in-app purchases.

Video link:
https://developers.facebook.com/videos/f8-2016/product-recap-analytics-for-apps/

 

Messenger

Probably the biggest announcement of the conference was Messenger Platform. This allows anyone to create bots that work within the application, using a send/receive API.

Facebook’s vision with the product is to use programmed artificial intelligence to help people interact with businesses more intuitively. The applications for this vary depending on the type of business, but examples include:
 

  • automated subscription content (weather, traffic, etc)
  • personalised notifications (receipts, shipping notifications)
  • order a pizza
  • arrange a hotel booking
  • and many more

 
By working with a developer, you can create these conversational interactions for your customers to engage with your brand on a platform they are familiar with, and its completely automated.

Video link:
https://developers.facebook.com/videos/f8-2016/product-recap-messenger-platform/

 

Live Video streaming

For some time now, you have have the ability to stream live video via the Facebook app on your mobile device. Facebook have now opened up the ability to connect other video capture devices into the service, including 360 camera setups.

The Live API will allow businesses and content creators to get their engaging video content onto the platform more easily than ever.

 

360 video

With further updates to Oculus Rift, and a new open sourced 360 camera technology, Facebook have cemented themselves in the world of VR and 360 experiences. By opening up their platform to the content you can create with 360 cameras, your customers can become even more engaged with your product or service.

 

In Summary

Having worked with several clients in the past to create 360 experiences, the response from customers really makes it worthwhile. By open sourcing their research, and the technology they have developed, Facebook have made creating this type of content is being easier and more affordable.

The work being done in digital and social is all about building bridges, making lives easier and connecting people. Whether its friends connecting across the globe, or connecting customers with needs to the relevant product/service.

 
If you would like to integrate any of the new products announced by Facebook into your business, or want to find out more about creating engaging 360 video content for your customers, please get in touch.