Facebook CEO Explains Separate Messenger Download, Points Towards 'Dedicated' Experience

[MacRumors]

During a public question and answer session held on Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg answered a number of questions about Facebook, and finally explained why his company made the unpopular move of forcing users to download the separate Messenger app in order to use Facebook's messaging capabilities.

As relayed by The Verge, Zuckerberg told the audience that messaging was removed from the main Facebook app because the company believes that a standalone messaging app is "a better experience.

Zuckerberg explained that when the Facebook team looked at other messaging apps, all of them focused on delivering just messaging alone, rather than a multitude of features. Facebook believed there were too many steps involved in sending a message in the main Facebook app, which is meant to be a News Feed, so it began requiring Messenger to cut down on friction.

Messaging is one of the few things people do more than social networking. In some countries 85 percent of people are on Facebook, but 95 percent of people use SMS or messaging. Asking folks to install another app is a short term painful thing, but if we wanted to focus on serving this [use case] well, we had to build a dedicated and focused experience.

We build for the whole community. Why wouldn't we let people choose to install the app on their own at their own pace? The reason is that what we're trying to do is build a service that's good for everyone. Because Messenger is faster and more focused, if you're using it, you respond to messages faster, we've found. If your friends are slower to respond, we might not have been able to meet up.

Zuckerberg went on to say that the company has its "most talented people" working on earning consumer trust and proving that the standalone Messenger experience "will be really good."

Facebook first began forcing users to switch over to Facebook Messenger to send and accept messages back in July, a move that turned out to be highly unpopular. Before the change, Facebook users could chat through the Messages tab located on the bottom toolbar in the main Facebook app, but after messaging capabilities were removed, the tab began directing users to download Facebook Messenger instead.

As a result, Facebook Messenger began receiving hundreds of negative reviews from users who were unhappy they were forced to download the app, and even today, months later, the app continues to have a 1.5 star rating in the App Store.

Facebook for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Facebook Messenger for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Facebook CEO Explains Separate Messenger Download, Points Towards 'Dedicated' Experience

 

[farewelwilliams]

i stopped using it just so that they can see in the analytics that people stopped using messenger after they removed it from the main app.

 

[bpeeps]

My "better experience" equals using the web version.

 

[gmanist1000]

He's wrong.

 

[0000757]

Why are poeple STILL complaining about the Messenger app??

I like it. I think it's good and it's miles better than the standard app. I don't even use the Facebook app anymore, I just use Paper.

 

[digitalove]

Sure, Messenger is a better experience for messaging but still I don't see any reason why you should force users to download an app to keep messaging. Let users decide if they want to download Messenger of if they want to use Facebook app only.

I don't use Facebook and I'm happy about it.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Why are poeple STILL complaining about the Messenger app??

I like it. I think it's good and it's miles better than the standard app. I don't even use the Facebook app anymore, I just use Paper.

whenever i see a red "1" (meaning there's a new message) in the main app, my intention is to click on it to remove the 1.

however, pressing it, it takes me out of the app and into another one, and I have to switch back.

 

[stol]

Why wouldn't we let people choose to install the app on their own at their own pace? The reason is that... we are the freakin' Facebook and can do whatever we like and not really care about what people want!

 

[bushido]

dont care but what pisses me of is their stupid useless filter showing me stuff from days ago as "new" on my newsfeed. just let me set "most recent" as default or bring back the drop down menu on top instead of hiding it behind all those steps. so annoying

 

[Alphabetize]

Facebook lost its charm to me years ago, don't really use it at all anymore.

 

[AndyUnderscoreR]

He's wrong.

and arrogant.

 

[Reason077]

I'm not going to download Messenger. Facebook chat just isn't all that important to me, and the messages I do get through it are usually the non-urgent variety that can wait till I'm at a desktop.

I do use Whatsapp, which was bought out by Facebook anyway. So why do Facebook need to go and force yet another messaging app on people?

 

[HangmanSwingset]

FBNoNeedMessenger is the best thing the Pangu jailbreak has given me. So glad I got to uninstall the Facebook messenger app

 

[Aluminum213]

Pathetic excuse and spin

100% of users want everything in one app, they launched messenger as a competitor to whatsapp and it bombed, so they figured remove chat from the main app and people will be forced to use it, in that regard it worked perfectly for them

Long run, it shows they don't give a damn about the user

 

[silentmajority]

A better experience for who? Obviously not me since I have no desire to download another bloated Facebook app. The best user experience would allow me the option to decide what is the best user experience... They must never have gotten that memo, which is too bad.

 

[Ballis]

My "better experience" equals using the web version.

Same here. When Facebook removed messages, I removed Facebook. Now im actually prefering the web-version.

 

[FieldingMellish]

Facebook was always such a disorganized mess of meaninglessness that I turned off all notifications and haven't been on it for two years.

 

[jmh600cbr]

does everyone remember when we found code that shows transferring of money between Facebook users? yeah. thats the reason. don't listen to this garbage.

 

[kd5jos]

So Google tried an all in one approach (remember google wave). It's not around anymore. You guys (FaceBook) figured out the sweet spot between just social networking and messaging. IT WAS WORKING. And the corporate response is, "we think it's better not doing what was working because some people may benefit from not doing what is working...."

What the %&*#???

Okay. I wonder, did FB shares soar when they did this? Did people suddenly switch to doing it this way? What's the market penetration right now? How is adoption going?

So when exactly are you going to switch this back to the way that actually works for the people using it?

 

[fontman]

Jaskass

Facebook - right , yes they becoming less relevant as of late so i guess creating different services my give them greater relevance for the long term but it pissing off more than any gain .

 

[andycr]

I agree, a dedicated experience is far better. In fact, we should just have a separate Facebook phone.

Oh wait, you tried that. My bad.

 

[NY Guitarist]

My guess is that they are trying to increase the number of advertising hits they get by using two apps.

No Facebook on my iPhone. Use the web version very randomly and not often.

 

[C DM]

Pathetic excuse and spin

100% of users want everything in one app, they launched messenger as a competitor to whatsapp and it bombed, so they figured remove chat from the main app and people will be forced to use it, in that regard it worked perfectly for them

Long run, it shows they don't give a damn about the user

It would seem that 100% of users wouldn't want that. But exaggerations are surely fun.

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My guess is that they are trying to increase the number of advertising hits they get by using two apps.

No Facebook on my iPhone. Use the web version very randomly and not often.

Don't think there's any advertising or anything like that in the Messenger app.

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whenever i see a red "1" (meaning there's a new message) in the main app, my intention is to click on it to remove the 1.

however, pressing it, it takes me out of the app and into another one, and I have to switch back.

A better experience for who? Obviously not me since I have no desire to download another bloated Facebook app. The best user experience would allow me the option to decide what is the best user experience... They must never have gotten that memo, which is too bad.

Well, aside from the fact that going from one screen in an app to another screen isn't that much of a difference as going from one app to another one, it seems that when you have a message notification it makes sense to be able to quickly use a leaner app dedicated to just Messaging to deal with the message rather than fire up a whole Facebook app when you simply want to read a message or reply to a message and have no need at all to have the app load your whole newsfeed and other unrelated items.

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I'm not going to download Messenger. Facebook chat just isn't all that important to me, and the messages I do get through it are usually the non-urgent variety that can wait till I'm at a desktop.

I do use Whatsapp, which was bought out by Facebook anyway. So why do Facebook need to go and force yet another messaging app on people?

That's your experience and probably wouldn't change whether or not Messenger was a separate app or not. So it's kind of a moot point. As for WhatsApp, it doesn't talk to Facebook or any of the contacts, so one isn't related to another.

 

[msteffer]

Facebook is not about a "News Feed." Facebook is about connecting people. By requiring a separate app for messages, you're making it more difficult for people to connect.

 

[Avenged110]

Lol it's reasons like this I don't use Facebook anymore...