Facebook is testing a dedicated video feed to help it compete with YouTube
It never seems to be the sole reason we visit Facebook, but if you’re anything like us, you’ve probably found yourself caught up in a “video hole,” watching viral video, after viral video before finally slapping yourself out of it. Facebook has really been pushing video on their site and in an effort to further give YouTube a run for their money, they announced that they’ve officially begun testing new a new discovery feature to help you find exactly what you were looking for (or what didn’t know you were looking for).
An all new dedicated videos tab is now replacing the Messenger shortcut for some folks, allowing users to quickly jump in and see nothing but a feed of videos from friends, liked pages, or videos going viral on the site. It’s a non-stop video viewing experience without those status updates and memes from friends/family/acquaintances that do nothing but get your blood boiling.
With Facebook recently introducing 360-degree VR videos, live streaming for celebrities, and new creator tools — it’s clear Facebook is going all-in with video. Because you’re already using Facebook for things other than video (keeping up with friends, messaging, or sharing photos), it’s the perfect way for them to suck you in and keep you on the site for longer amounts of time, which means more opportunity for ad dollars.
No word on when — if at all — we could see this new videos tab hit Android devices, but they did mention that their new “suggested videos” feature, which recently rolled out on iOS devices, will arrive in the coming months.
Posted by Facebook Media on Tuesday, October 13, 2015