Facebook to ‘change the world of social media’ (again)

Facebook has already rolled up a number of updates in the lead up to its f8 developers’ conference. The world’s largest social network claims, though, that it has more in store. A lot more.

According to Mashable “editor at large” Ben Parr, who claims to have seen what Facebook plans to unveil at f8, “it’s going to change the world of social media”.

Parr revealed that the technology blog had been give a sneak preview of the features but was unable to reveal specific features owing to a press embargo.

He stated, however that “The Facebook you know and (don’t) love will be forever transformed” and that the changes would be “biggest things to come out of the company since the launch of the Facebook Platform”.

Given the level of ire surrounding the latest updates to the site, there is a degree of irony in the reasons given for the wide-sweeping changes.

“Facebook has hundreds of millions of users and spectacular levels of engagement, but it is a platform that has lost its emotional resonance over the years.

More and more people visit Facebook out of necessity rather than desire. It’s a platform people prefer to hate, but won’t leave simply because all their friends are there,” Parr says.

Parr points out that this lack of emotional connect, along with an “easy on the eyes” interface, has tempted large numbers of users into migrating Google+.

The most recent updates including revamped Friends Lists, a real time news ticker, and the subscribe button are all similar to existing features to its chief rival’s social network.

The new changes, Parr says, have a much larger goal in mind. They will, apparently “make Facebook a place where nearly everything in your life is enhanced by your social graph. These changes will make it so you know your friends better than you ever thought you could.”

Facebook is rolling out these changes, Parr says, not because it wants to add to its 750-million strong user base, or to get more page impressions.

Instead, he argues, they are designed to help it “become the social layer that supports, powers and connects every single piece of the web, no matter who or what it is or where it lives”.

Parr is particularly excited about the changes, saying that “developers will be elated, users will be shellshocked and the competition will look ancient. On Thursday, Facebook will be reborn. Prepare yourselves for the evolution of social networking”.

Users interested in seeing the updates as they’re rolled out can watch a live-stream from the f8 conference.