Who Else Thinks Facebook is Turning to a Social Media Operating System?

I saw the latest Facebook Messenger update, and it made me cringe a little bit. It now has the Snapchat-like feature with disappearing stories and posts. As at the time I’m writing this, the new features has not been updated on the google play store so I couldn’t use an official image. This came as a surprise to me because earlier in February, Whatsapp, also owned by Facebook, pushed the same kind of update to their app, witha lot of people not liking the move. And if you don't know, Instagram, also owned by Facebook, had adopted these same kind of feature for months.

I am not sure if this is a good thing for Facebook’s business or not, but I wonder why the same company would have different apps (or subsidiaries) doing almost the same thing. Both Whatsapp and Messenger make video and voice calls and both uses phone numbers to connect. The only major difference is that Messenger integrated into Facebook, even though it is now possible to have a contact on Messenger who is not your friend on Facebook.

Facebook currently has two out of the world’s top 5 messaging apps, and the company is still pushing for more users with all these new features. Not to forget, Facebook is also pushing Virtual Reality withOculus Rift, though it hasnot been commercially successful since its acquisition.

Now the question is, could Facebook be working towards what I call a social media operating system? I think if there is any company who can do this right now, it is Facebook. Even though I think its scary, presently, to think that one company has uncontrolled access to our digital social lives, this is just the beginning.

Only 40% of the world have internet access, and Facebook know this. That is why it is pushing aggressively withInternet.orgto connect the rest of the world who has no internet.

There is an idea that when robots and AI takes most or all of human’s mundane and automate-able tasks, then we will focus on what really makes us humans — Interaction. If this idea is true, then I think Facebook is already positioning herself to fill up this space. Maybe, in the future, our interactions will be shaped by Facebook in the sameway Apple shaped the music experience in the 21st century.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

If you are curious to see how Facebook changed, check thislink.