Facebook is working on a new dedicated app that focuses on making it quick and easy for users to share photos and video, according to a new report. The app, which is as-yet unnamed, allegedly launches straight into the camera view rather than one that shows posts or other data in an attempt to reduce the friction that sometimes prevents users from sharing content.
Facebook is said to be acutely aware that its users are becoming lurkers rather than posters. With around 1.6 billion users, Facebook knows that most simply visit Facebook in order to browse their feeds and keep up with what their friends are doing. That means that fewer and fewer people are posting photos, sharing videos and updating their statuses, which is, after all, what makes Facebook tick. This new app is aimed at reversing that trend, according to the report out of the Wall Street Journal.
The app, still in the prototyping stage and not guaranteed to see the light of day, is being worked on by Facebook’s Friend-Sharing team in London and makes it as easy to share live video as it is to share recorded content in an attempt to make for live, interactive experiences for both those sharing and those viewing that content.
Facebook’s main app currently focusses on making consuming Facebook content as easy as possible and opens into a stream view of that content rather than one more suited to making sharing easier and faster. Facebook clearly believes that a separate, dedicated app is the way to go here and we do wonder if Facebook’s purchase of Instagram, or its more recent MSQRD acquisition, may come in useful here.
Right now, it is important to remember that there are no guarantees that this new camera app will ever make its way to a smartphone near you, but with Facebook testing all manner of things internally, it is clear that a sharing-focused media app is one of them.
(Source: The Wall Street Journal)
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