Facebook is Testing News Feed for Videos with new Video Hub
Facebook have started showing billions of videos to its users by placing relevant clips in their feeds, between feeds related to pictures of friends’ kids and different stories about other people. One can now watch a video on Facebook, without having to read about it.
Video Streaming on the Social Media Site
Facebook is going to help people watch videos without any information overload. The social giant is testing a dedicated place on Facebook itself where people can watch video. Users can then discover, watch and share videos based on their interest and preference.
By doing this, the social site is bang on competition with YouTube, the world’s largest video streaming site. Facebook’s announcement has got video industry insiders interested that they can get their own video push in earnest on the site. Facebook is aggressively bidding for video viewers’ time and advertisers’ dollars so that they can experience something like YouTube right within their own site. Also, the new approach does not opt for Facebook to show something one doesn’t need.
Dedicated and Connected
- A dedicated hub inside the facebook app is something to capitalize their new approach and although the hub does not have a name yet.
- The videos will be based on clips that the user must have saved or watched and would also depend on recommended videos forwarded to you by your own friends.
- Additionally, Facebook will be sending in topical clips based on current events. Although the approach is still not clear, one can safely assume that the videos will be algorithmically generated just as Facebook displays its “trending” items.
Tweaks to the Video Hub and the Approach
You can get a sense of how a video plays out since it features various tweaks from Facebook which is keen to make its video offerings open for all. Presently, Facebook is opening up the feature for a small number of people only.
Not many are sure about Facebook’s intentions here and nor is anybody sure if the users will actually want a lean-in offering, as opposed to Facebook’s proactive approach that has worked very well for them for years. If the users love the feature, then Facebook is expected to achieve a strong standing with YouTube for distribution mechanism that will be devastating to YouTube’s prospects.
Facebook is experimenting with other approaches including the expansion of its “suggested video” feature that will give users to watch related clips, and also giving advertisers a chance to show clips related to different offerings and earn revenue.
Expected Success Ratio
Facebook is keen to implement the feature and is expected to offer it to most of its iPhone users and then introduce the same to Android users in the coming times. People will soon be watching clips on a floating screen while scrolling through their Facebook pages and the site is expected to test the video hub right inside of its own offerings with immediacy. The social media giant is expected to roll out the feature on the web soon.
Multitasking is something that the company is keen on exploring. Floating screens might be a way to explore this part but one cannot be sure if the users will be able to warm up to the new feature.
Additionally, since YouTube has its own base of video users who are exclusively attached to the site, FB has a huge gap to fill if it is up against YouTube. Video is certainly on the cards for many companies for the future especially to send content across the board and with a video hub, FB is making its plans for the future albeit in a systematic manner.
Nisarg is the Business Development Manager at Nimblechapps, a top mobile game development company and has been with the organisation since its inception in 2014. He likes to update his knowledge on changing trends in technology and marketing and pens his thoughts regarding the same on various blogs and LinkedIn.