RapTV
Tech

Facebook Introduces New Updates to Search Local, Explore More, and Join Communities

We spoke with the Head of Facebook, Tom Alison, about what’s now happening on Facebook.

Maddie Gee

Facebook is no longer the platform it used to be when it launched in 2003 (in a good way). The app has grown worldwide to offer everything from your aunt’s Christmas photoshoot to a new couch to buy for your apartment. The platform is constantly evolving to make sure that it stays the “top dawg” in the social media world—and its new updates are keeping that status strong. We talked with the Head of Facebook, Tom Alison, about what new features users can now expect when they launch the app.

 

The new Local tab curates the best sales, groups, and events in your area

With the new Local tab, Facebook is bringing together the best local content the app has to offer in one place. The new experience is currently testing in cities including Houston, Los Angeles, and Austin. Users can find everything from activities close to them or the next great hotspot to hit up on Friday night. Facebook also has a new swipeable Feed feature for you to get in your research bag and find people to meet, events to attend, or products for sale.

What makes the new Local tab stand out from previous updates and other social media platforms?  

Tom: There’s a bunch of local information on Facebook. Marketplace is one of our most popular products, particularly with young people—you can find local deals and things to do. We’ve got events [and] got local groups. One of the things that we find is with Facebook, particularly with young people, they’re like, ‘Hey, turns out when I use multiple products on Facebook…I really see a lot more of what’s going on with my interests.’ 

So, really, what Local does is it says, ‘All right, we’re gonna take the best local content on Facebook and put it in one convenient place.’ It’s bringing the best of Facebook together and just highlighting that local talent, businesses, [and] flavor that I think is hard to find anywhere else because Facebook has such a rich and large network of people who are sharing to it.

The new Explore tab helps you discover more of the content you love

Along with the Local tab, Facebook is now offering an Explore tab to find content that’s fit for you. Not only will there be content to entertain, but content to dive deeper into your interests and get advice from those who are the best in the game. According to the app, the tab will be “unique to each person’s interests, and [they] leverage a wide variety of signals to power [their] relevance models so that your content will reflect the things you’re into.

How will the Explore tab tailor itself to each user’s specific interests? Would it use history, the user making their selections, or a potential combination of both?  

Tom: One of the things that we’ve been doing in Facebook, more generally, is really upgrading our AI and recommendation capabilities. So the idea there is if you’re telling us something that you’re interested in, in any of our products, we can help use that to inform other stuff. 

The idea of Explore is how do we find content that is very practical and can help you take the next step on something that you want to do? It’s actually not even about entertaining content. It’s about content that can help you go deeper on [such as] a hobby or an interest or something that you’re trying to learn. We use that as a filter to figure out what should be in Explore and then within that, we learn from your interest across Facebook.

The Updated Vertical Video Tab Helps You Find More Recs

According to Facebook, young adults on the platform “spend almost 60% of their time on the app watching videos, and more than half of young adults watch reels daily.” With their new updates, it is now easier than ever to find Reels and other videos with their updated, full-screen Video Tab. Watch all of the videos you love and keep the new recommendations coming with their technology.

With the updated Video tab, how is it similar or different from the never-ending scroll that TikTok and IG Reels offer users?

Tom: One of the things that we know is that people really love vertical full-screen video. It’s on TikTok [and] Instagram, and [now], it’s on Facebook too. We wanted to make sure that we were meeting people where they were [regarding] what they wanted from video. On Facebook, you can see real short videos, but that player can also seamlessly handle longer form video … You can view live video there. It’s trying to bring the best of a lot of the diverse video content that’s already on Facebook in a very simple-to-use player experience. 

Again, under the hood, we’ve really upgraded our recommendation technology. We have these powerful algorithms that are now powering the video experience. So one of the things that’s a little bit unique on Facebook that it’s not on Tiktok is again, we have these multiple products.

Share your favorite songs on Facebook Notes and Memories

Earlier this year, Facebook introduced Notes in its Messenger tab. Now, users can add music to their notes or mention specific people to let the world know how they are feeling. The new format is also starting to be tested on Facebook. With the new Memories option, you can also reshare photos from your chats that were previously shared in Messenger.

What makes FB Notes and its new functionalities stand out from other platforms, like IG Notes? 

Tom: One of the things that we’re seeing is that people want super light ways to share what they’re up to with their friends. Facebook is where you discover all this great stuff from our large community. But then we see people often want to move the conversation to a smaller and more intimate space, so they want to share what they find on Facebook in a Messenger thread.

We’ve seen that types of sharing grow tremendously year after year … These are just ways for you to share what’s going on with your friends, with groups of people, or in smaller communities of people in a more intimate space that helps you stay connected.

Creating Safe Communities in Facebook Messenger without Groups

Speaking of Messenger, Facebook also launched the new Messenger Communities. Now, users can create multiple chats based on different topics within the overall Messenger community. There are also tools to ensure you can moderate (to make sure younger users are safe) and manage the community without having to use the Facebook Group function. Ideal for everything from campus events or a group project to the next big concert.

What rules and measures are in place to ensure users’ safety and well-being in the communities, especially for your younger users? 

Tom: That’s something that we’ve invested a lot in and take very seriously. You can always report content or groups that you see there. We have a lot of proactive measures to keep people safe in terms of being able to enforce our community standards, take down violating content, remove violating accounts. So all of that ends up being in play for these products that we’re talking about.

Creators Now Have More Monetization Opportunities

A new monetization program is launching to make it easier than ever before for creators to earn money for the different types of content they offer, whether it’s long-form, short-form, photos, or more. There is also an emphasis on equality and making sure that everyone has the same opportunities offered to them.

When it comes to the new monetization programs, what rules and measures are being used to make sure that all creators have access to these opportunities, regardless of race, sexual identity, etc.? 

Tom: Right now, we’re trying to simplify our monetization offering so we have a monetization program for reels and longer-form videos. We have a monetization program for text and photo posts, and frankly, it’s a little confusing. First off, all of our creators are not taking advantage of these to the degree that I think they could be.

So we announced earlier this week this unified Facebook creator monetization product. It allows you to have one set of eligibility requirements that are clearly communicated. It allows you to join and get access to all of these content monetization opportunities. It gives you clear insights into which content is performing better.

In general, [I think] improving how well we communicate the simplicity of the programs, making sure creators can stay safe, and having the most advanced tools to protect their accounts [will] be helpful for everybody.