Facebook to Cut Messaging From Main App in Effort to Focus on Facebook Messenger

[C DM]

Well about the only time I message someone on Facebook is when I am reminded of that person by something I've seen on Facebook. I don't reply to someone who calls, texts, or emails me with a Facebook message.

Facebook can do whatever the heck they want, but so can I, and if they fragment their app and make it hard to use like Foursquare did, I can walk away. I just don't understand why they think we'd find separate apps more useful. Why wouldn't they want it to parallel their website organization?

For the same types of reason phone manufacturers find phone, email, and messaging apps to be logically separate even if they are all essentially related.

Facebook sees their messaging service as more than just a small thing related to their main service they see it as a bigger item that's related but not depended on the rest of the newsfeed service Facebook provides. The way you use it is one thing, and maybe many use it in a similar fashion, but many more still use it similar to how they use a messaging service like iMessage or WhatsApp and often want to message people without the need or care for newsfeed updates. Facebook wants to promote that but it's not aimed at everyone. Since you barely use the service anyway (as most who have mentioned displeasure with this in threads like this) it's not something aimed at you nor will Facebook really miss those who will decide to jump ship because of something essentially inconsequential like this (as those were barely on the ship at all if at all on it).

----------

Why would they deliberately hamstring their app? Especially now, when the youth are fleeing Facebook for no longer being cool.

Yup all that is totally happening in a parallel universe somewhere.

 

[BruiserB]

For the same types of reason phone manufacturers find phone, email, and messaging apps to be logically separate even if they are all essentially related.



Facebook sees their messaging service as more than just a small thing related to their main service they see it as a bigger item that's related but not depended on the rest of the newsfeed service Facebook provides. The way you use it is one thing, and maybe many use it in a similar fashion, but many more still use it similar to how they use a messaging service like iMessage or WhatsApp and often want to message people without the need or care for newsfeed updates. Facebook wants to promote that but it's not aimed at everyone. Since you barely use the service anyway (as most who have mentioned displeasure with this in threads like this) it's not something aimed at you nor will Facebook really miss those who will decide to jump ship because of something essentially inconsequential like this (as those were barely on the ship at all if at all on it).

----------

Yup all that is totally happening in a parallel universe somewhere.

Oh I see....they want to be the next AIM, or Yahoo! Messenger. I think they are well on their way to achieving that.

 

[BJMRamage]

Seems as though i get hounded by "try the FB Messenger App" ads all the time. if I wanted to use it, i would have DL it. i guess I will just text people now.

oh well, less "hassle"

 

[Explorz]

I'm fairly certain this is some of the oldest news I have ever read on this site, this was implemented a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, please do some research next time

Nope! This has not been implemented yet. The article is about the fact that they are about to remove the message capability within the main FB app. That hasn't happened yet as the current FB app still has messaging capabilities.

You may want to do some actual reading next time.

 

[sharprichnorth]

Canada

It's been like this for ages in Canada. I don't mind two apps as much as the bizarrely inconsistent behaviour that when you tap the Messenger item on the Facebook app's navigation bar, it switches to the Messenger app. Just take the button out and it would be a lot better—the notifications will take you to the right app.

That said, this seems like a "strategy" decision more than something considered from users' perspectives.

 

[rei101]

Guys.... close your facebook accounts.

I do not mean delete them, just close them and keep it like the old notebook in a drawer with addresses just in case.

I closed my FB account 2 month ago now (or 3) and I am feeling way more a live and self aware. Just 2 out of the 400+ contact I had contacted me back via email or skype.

Today I had to fired one of my employes because he had an obsession with FB and messaging and he was no paying attention to the basic rules in working in an office environment, he suffered from anxiety and I spoke to him for 2 months and he never listened.

The problem with FB and texting and all that, is that you are creating an alter ego, another you. But you still living in the real world. Each minute and hour you spend in a social media, is time you are not investing in improving your social skills like learning to have a conversation, listening to others, collaboration, love relationships, work relationships and so on.

I am taking a major in Marketing as well, I am 39 and what the teacher is telling us about the trend of the new generation is bad. The Millennials can not even deal with a face to face job interview.

Still.... stay away from FB and all sort of media. Make real friends, call them visit a different one every night, have wine, drinks, prepare dinner for a "petite comité", plan a trip. Invest your life in to that. You will have a blast.

Today we are watching a movie about 6 people here in my place. I just stopped here I do not know why. But trust me... there is a life where the internet has nothing to do.

Have fun.

 

[C DM]

I do not mean delete them, just close them and keep it like the old notebook in a drawer with addresses just in case.

I closed my FB account 2 month ago now (or 3) and I am feeling way more a live and self aware. Just 2 out of the 400+ contact I had contacted me back via email or skype.

Today I had to fired one of my employes because he had an obsession with FB and messaging and he was no paying attention to the basic rules in working in an office environment, he suffered from anxiety and I spoke to him for 2 months and he never listened.

The problem with FB and texting and all that, is that you are creating an alter ego, another you. But you still living in the real world. Each minute and hour you spend in a social media, is time you are not investing in improving your social skills like learning to have a conversation, listening to others, collaboration, love relationships, work relationships and so on.

I am taking a major in Marketing as well, I am 39 and what the teacher is telling us about the trend of the new generation is bad. The Millennials can not even deal with a face to face job interview.

Still.... stay away from FB and all sort of media. Make real friends, call them visit a different one every night, have wine, drinks, prepare dinner for a "petite comité", plan a trip. Invest your life in to that. You will have a blast.

Today we are watching a movie about 6 people here in my place. I just stopped here I do not know why. But trust me... there is a life where the internet has nothing to do.

Have fun.

All problems that don't apply to the vast majority. There are those that abuse or get really affected by many things in life before even Internet or electricity existed, but it doesn't make those things bad inherently simply because there are some that are negatively affected by them essentially because of their own doing.

 

[BruiserB]

That said, this seems like a "strategy" decision more than something considered from users' perspectives.

I just don't understand the strategy at all. If it was obvious that this will allow them to show us more ads, or anything that would cause users to be more engaged, I'd understand even if I still didn't like it.

The messaging app isn't really a standalone app....can you message someone you aren't already friends with? So if I meet someone new I have to open the Facebook app and friend them or accept their request....then I have to open the messenger app to talk to them? What is the strategy here?? Maybe they envision merging whatsapp into messenger? But again why couldn't they just do that within Facebook?

 

[thefourthpope]

Anticipating the message icon in the original FB app having a little badge, but clicking it pulls up a screen: "get the new messages app!"
So I never get the app and never get the messages.

Path (an admittedly much smaller social networking platform) went through similar fracturing recently.

 

[C DM]

I just don't understand the strategy at all. If it was obvious that this will allow them to show us more ads, or anything that would cause users to be more engaged, I'd understand even if I still didn't like it.

The messaging app isn't really a standalone app....can you message someone you aren't already friends with? So if I meet someone new I have to open the Facebook app and friend them or accept their request....then I have to open the messenger app to talk to them? What is the strategy here?? Maybe they envision merging whatsapp into messenger? But again why couldn't they just do that within Facebook?

In some sense people shouldn't be happy that Facebook is becoming less bloated as that's always been an issue for many.

And yes you can message people not on Facebook something they added and been promoting for some time as well.

 

[floatingspirit]

They're Netflixing themselves! Bifurcation is not good. I don't need FB for instant messaging, nor do I want two apps for one thing. Just another reason to leave FB behind.

 

[C DM]

They're Netflixing themselves! Bifurcation is not good. I don't need FB for instant messaging, nor do I want two apps for one thing. Just another reason to leave FB behind.

Those leaving because of something like this (especially saying that you don't need Facebook messaging anyway, meaning simply having a Facebook app without messaging in it would actually be better), are those who don't care about Facebook anyway, in which case it's all moot.

 

[BruiserB]

Those leaving because of something like this (especially saying that you don't need Facebook messaging anyway, meaning simply having a Facebook app without messaging in it would actually be better), are those who don't care about Facebook anyway, in which case it's all moot.

So explain to me how the heavy teenage Facebook user is going to love this change?? Aren't they obsessed with seeing everything their friends are posting and then messaging each other about it?? That is actually why AIM and Yahoo! Messenger have all but died.....they don't have the integration with the social network thy Facebook has or at least had.

As far as bloat goes, I don't consider having to have 2 apps to each do part of the job a solution. With the advanced 64 bit processors going into iDevices (and all of the quad core Android phones), I find it hard to believe they can't handle Facebook.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

Well I haven't downloaded Messenger yet, and I don't plan to. I just don't have enough of my friends that use it or talk to me that often. Same with whatsapp and snapchat. I just don't see the point in having an app that less than 10 people use to contact me. Meanwhile the people I talk to on a regular basis use text (or iMessage for iPhone users) or email. I'm also annoyed with the Foursquare split as I do like to check in when I'm in a new place. It may prove to be useful when they actual improve the main app recommendations.

 

[C DM]

So explain to me how the heavy teenage Facebook user is going to love this change?? Aren't they obsessed with seeing everything their friends are posting and then messaging each other about it?? That is actually why AIM and Yahoo! Messenger have all but died.....they don't have the integration with the social network thy Facebook has or at least had.

As far as bloat goes, I don't consider having to have 2 apps to each do part of the job a solution. With the advanced 64 bit processors going into iDevices (and all of the quad core Android phones), I find it hard to believe they can't handle Facebook.

They'll like it just fine. AIM didn't get killed because of being a separate app or not having an ecosystem, it just died down because people moved on to something else for many other reasons. Might very well happen with Facebook at some point too, but separating messaging into a separate app on mobile devices isn't going to play an important factor in it.

As for bloat, sure, there are other solutions, but since the likelihood of them being implemented well isn't likely pulling some things out of the app should be more satisfactory for those who complain about the app being bloated (and those who barely use those other features anyway).

 

[entropy2112]

I will delete the Facebook app then

 

[starnox]

They did this in the UK a while back. Such a pain. I refuse to install another app. What's worse is the main app still tells you when you have messages... you just can't read them! At least get rid of everything completely from the main app if you are going to do it!!!

 

[QCassidy352]

Why would you want a separate Phone and Mesaages app when having one that could do both sounds like it would be a better idea by that logic? Where's the outrage at Apple or any other phone manufacturer for now doing that?

Let's take it to the other extreme - why not have a newsfeed app, a messenger app, a new request app, and an app to update your profile info?

The current fb app handles the messenger functions flawlessly, even elegantly. So they're fixing what isn't broken. If apple could and did make an app that handled both the phone and messeges functions as flawlessly and simply as the two apps do today, I'd be fine with it. What I'm not fine with is multiplying the apps we need to achieve the same thing with no underlying reason based in (a lack of) functionality.

 

[innominato5090]

This is great! I only have the messenger app installed on my phone already (I couldn't care less of news feed, pictures, events, etc…), but I've always feared that they would require me to switch back to the full app at some point. good I see that it is not the case!

 

[C DM]

Let's take it to the other extreme - why not have a newsfeed app, a messenger app, a new request app, and an app to update your profile info?

Precisely why these slippery slope arguments don't work.

 

[QCassidy352]

Precisely why these slippery slope arguments don't work.

This isn't about slippery slopes, it's about Facebook fixing what's in no way broken. Instead of defending this change by using strawman arguments about what other companies could, but won't do with their apps, can you explain why this particular change actually makes sense?

 

[C DM]

This isn't about slippery slopes, it's about Facebook fixing what's in no way broken. Instead of defending this change by using strawman arguments about what other companies could, but won't do with their apps, can you explain why this particular change actually makes sense?

I was commenting on another strawman argument by showing the opposite extreme.

 

[mabhatter]

Dumb. I don't want two apps.

Twice the invasive tracking!!!

 

[lordofthereef]

I'm fairly certain this is some of the oldest news I have ever read on this site, this was implemented a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, please do some research next time

I think you need to re read the article. Messages are still sendable and receivable via the Facebook app, so it hasn't even been implemented yet, much less a long time ago.

 

[Fzang]

Look at all these brave soldiers fighting the oppressive online regime. /s

I personally use Facebook for it's groups (a la a billboard for what's going on, and important information) and generally just to see "what's up" in my home country as I've lived 7000 km away for almost a year now. People post trending things, political issues and other interesting things.

That you only know 2 out of your 500 friends and are addicted to others' baby and vacation photos like heroin is hardly the fault of Facebook alone.