Facebook Turns Messenger Into a Platform, Allows Third-Party iOS App Integration

[C DM]

All the apps shown in the OP screenshot look like they would cause your friends to remove you or mute your feed.

Facebook isn't really what it used to be. Removing "Messages" from the Facebook app doesn't benefit the end user. You should be able to choose to send the odd message in the FB app or install Messenger for more features.

Alas, as Facebook declared themselves: if they left Messages/Chat in the FB app, then people wouldn't use the Messenger app. What does that really tell you?

It's like that for some, it's not like that for many others.

 

[Altis]

It's like that for some, it's not like that for many others.

To which point?

 

[C DM]

To which point?

To any/all of them essentially.

 

[Altis]

To any/all of them essentially.

If there were both options (as there was previously), everybody wins.

 

[C DM]

If there were both options (as there was previously), everybody wins.

That can apply to pretty much anything in life. Unfortunately usually not practical.

 

[Keirasplace]

Google could have, if they hadn't totally thrown user privacy out the window with G+.

I question if pple already has the capability, if they choose to finally implement it. Between iMessage, Photostream, Pay, Apps, etc... The only thing really missing from iOS is a status update, which could easily be thrown into the exiting "iCloud Photo Sharing: Activity" area, along with pulling "Activity" out of Photos into a separate app. iTivity? AppleTivity? AppleSpace? Perhars just a new service called "iCloud Sharing", which will allow you to share just text "status" type message and any content from any app in iOS.

Apple should totally have a Social Media platform called BITE.ME ;-).

 

[Altis]

That can apply to pretty much anything in life. Unfortunately usually not practical.

Blanket statement. We had both options before, and it worked great.. everyone was content.

They removed one option because the other is claimed to be superior, but a very large number of users don't find it so.

It's no less practical to have both.

 

[C DM]

Blanket statement. We had both options before, and it worked great.. everyone was content.

They removed one option because the other is claimed to be superior, but a very large number of users don't find it so.

It's no less practical to have both.

Supporting a fairly big component in an already large and often seen as bloated app is certainly less practical then not needing it there when a separate app for that component exists.

As far as a very large number of users not finding it surperior, who is to say that a much larger number of users either don't care about it being a separate app and/or even actually find it surperior in one way or another as far as their usage goes? And/or that many of those "complaining" are often doing so because they have some bone to pick with Facebook in general or have some principled hate for Facebook (and don't even care about it or using any of it), which has nothing to do with the Messenger app at all?

 

[milo]

I have never installed it, and it's hard to imagine what they could do that would change that.

 

[Altis]

Supporting a fairly big component in an already large and often seen as bloated app is certainly less practical then not needing it there when a separate app for that component exists.

As far as a very large number of users not finding it surperior, who is to say that a much larger number of users either don't care about it being a separate app and/or even actually find it surperior in one way or another as far as their usage goes? And/or that many of those "complaining" are often doing so because they have some bone to pick with Facebook in general or have some principled hate for Facebook (and don't even care about it or using any of it), which has nothing to do with the Messenger app at all?

The only numbers I'm aware of for the rating is in the App Store, which is refreshed with each update (around 1-2 weeks). The rating for the current and all versions is quite poor.

It doesn't matter if lots of people like using the separate app because nobody wants that taken away. The only thing people want is the messaging capabilities (simple as they may have been) restored to the original app.

Again, everyone wins like this. Everyone can decide what they want to use and when.

The criticisms I've seen of removing the messaging from the FB app have largely been quite reasonable. The rebuttals to those criticisms have been very weak, including Facebooks own defense of it.

You'd think that as a corporation, it's in their best interest to please as many customers as possible. Getting rid of one thing because many users prefer another doesn't make sense unless those two things are incompatible.

 

[C DM]

The only numbers I'm aware of for the rating is in the App Store, which is refreshed with each update (around 1-2 weeks). The rating for the current and all versions is quite poor.

It doesn't matter if lots of people like using the separate app because nobody wants that taken away. The only thing people want is the messaging capabilities (simple as they may have been) restored to the original app.

Again, everyone wins like this. Everyone can decide what they want to use and when.

The criticisms I've seen of removing the messaging from the FB app have largely been quite reasonable. The rebuttals to those criticisms have been very weak, including Facebooks own defense of it.

You'd think that as a corporation, it's in their best interest to please as many customers as possible. Getting rid of one thing because many users prefer another doesn't make sense unless those two things are incompatible.

Facebook app is bloated as it is, adding more code to it isn't going to help it, which is why from a practical side of things if there's a separate messaging app it doesn't make much sense to add that code into the main app that needs to be refactored and made even more lean as it is.

Seems like most of the criticism about not having messaging capabilities in the main app has been coming from those who simply don't feel like installing an additional app--which isn't much of a critisim as its just installing an app and isn't a big deal or even a small deal on devices that are made to install and run apps--or those who just dislike Facebook in one way or another--which really isn't relevant to the discussion of where messaging capabilities lie. All of that makes the majority of complaints are rather weak themselves as they aren't really centered on much that is rational and mostly just emotial reactions (of the "I don't feel like installing an app" or "Facebook sucks").

That said, as an idea, I'm certainly not against having it separate and integrated, but as a matter of how it would practically work out, I'm just pointing out that there are fairly rational reasons that can be applied to support it being separate, and that at the same time that most of the negative feedback--the size of which cant really be said to be big simply by viewing a subgroup of people that are vocal, which is going to be those that have something negative to say while those who are just fine can easily be the vast silent majority that doesn't have a need to voice anything about it--is mainly based on emotional reactions and not as much specific rational flaws or actual meaningful downsides.