Jack Morse says, “Facebook is coming for you. With the social media giant’s F8 conference in the rear-view mirror, it is now more clear than ever that what we think of when we think of Facebook — messaging, sharing photos, forming groups, etc. — represents only the beginning of the company’s ambitions. notes that people spend a combined total of 50 minutes every day on Facebook and Instagram. For company CEO Mark Zuckerberg, that just means there are 1,390 minutes left to be captured. He dreams of a future where Facebook is the default way you interact with the world, and... [...]

Nina Zipkin says, “Since Facebook’s 2017 F8 Developer Conference kicked off yesterday, the social media giant has made a raft of announcements about the new features it has in the works. From advances in augmented reality to virtual assistants, read on for the latest offerings from Mark Zuckerberg and company. Augmented reality During his keynote, Zuckerberg highlighted various forms of AR technology that could soon appear on our smartphones. He previewed tools that will allow users to place virtual objects in real places, such as a note on a refrigerator or artwork on blank white walls.... [...]

Alex Heath says, “The all-star roster of tech veterans that Facebook began assembling one year ago is quietly making progress, steadily expanding the size of its ranks and the hardware prototypes under development. The group, known as Building 8, currently has four simultaneous projects underway, spanning everything from cameras and augmented reality to science fiction-like brain scanning technology, Business Insider has learned. And Facebook is already planning the coming-out party for its impending family of gadgets, laying the groundwork to drum up interest and sell the products when... [...]

Karissa Bell says, “It’s that time of year again. Facebook is gearing up for its biggest event of the year. The company’s F8 developer conference is set to kick off Tuesday and there will likely be no shortage of news coming out of the two-day event. While the only real certainty is that there will be at least a few surprises in store, there are a few topics we’re rooting for Zuckerberg and other Facebook execs tackle. How’s that fight against fake news going? Last year, Zuckerberg used the F8 stage to deliver a pretty righteous burn to Donald Trump. A lot has changed... [...]

Kerry Flynn says, “Once upon a time, Facebook was just a website for college students to connect. If Facebook gets its way, it’ll be the go-to solution for all companies, especially small businesses, to run their operations. “If you think about over the last 13 years, we’ve been making progress on our mission of making the world more open and connected,” said Katherine Shappley, Facebook’s director of small business in North America. “Other people and businesses that they care about, and, of course, communities are at the heart of that.” Facebook... [...]

Lesya Liu says, “In an attempt to become a one-stop-shop for literally everything you do online, Facebook waged a war on GoFundMe, which claims to be “the #1 do-it-yourself fundraising website to raise money online.” The former network already dabbled into fundraising in 2016, when it enabled users “to raise money for more than 750,000 nonprofits through fundraisers, and donate buttons in their live broadcasts and posts.” In the coming weeks, the feature will be rolled out to all verified Business Pages in the United States. Live broadcast viewers will be able to donate right as... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “Facebook is reportedly experimenting with a second News Feed that would display content from sources users have’t Liked or followed. As detailed by TechCrunch, users of the social network’s iOS and Android apps have reported seeing a rocket ship icon under which content that Facebook thinks might be of interest is displayed. Here’s what you need to know. Facebook has acknowleged that it’s testing a new feature According to Facebook, “We are testing a complementary feed of popular articles, videos, and photos, customized for each person... [...]

Nicole Lee says, “Facebook’s quest to mimic Snapchat is undeniable at this point. In just the last few months, Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger have all integrated some form of Stories — a disappearing slideshow format that Snapchat is famous for — while Facebook Live dabbled in Snapchat-esque selfie filters. Now, after months of experiments and tests, it’s time for the main Facebook app to get in on the action too. Today, the company is officially rolling out three new Snapchat-inspired features to its core app: a brand new in-app camera that’s chockful... [...]

Tim Peterson says, “Traditionally, clicking on a brand’s ad on Facebook would open a dedicated microsite or product catalog hosted outside of Facebook. But Facebook continues to roll out mobile ad formats that bring those off-Facebook experiences inside the social network. On Thursday, Facebook unveiled a showy new shopping ad format called Collection, the latest addition to the line of immersive, mobile-only ad formats that it introduced with the iAd-like Canvas in September 2015. If Canvas was aimed at brands looking to attract attention, Collection is intended for marketers as concerned... [...]

Tom Brant says, “Facebook’s user data is the company’s lifeblood, sustaining the advertising platform of the world’s largest social network. But it’s not just advertisers who want that data: spies and law enforcement agencies would also like to get their hands on it. Facebook on Monday made it a bit harder for them to get it. A new update to the company’s developer rules prohibits the use of Facebook data in surveillance tools, something that Facebook said was already against its policies but not explicit enough. The update explains that developers cannot “use... [...]