Social media has become an integral part of most daily lives, connecting people across the globe and enabling them to share experiences, ideas, and interests. Facebook has been at the forefront and very much wants to continue that trend. In a recent announcement, Facebook outlined its vision for the next 20 years, focusing on two key areas: building the next generation of social media for young adults and leveraging the power of artificial intelligence to enhance social discovery.
Facebook has latched onto the notion that young adults are going through significant life transitions, such as moving, attending college, or starting their first job. To keep pace, the company has made changes to its core product, tailoring features to meet their specific needs.
The company has upgraded its Reels and Feed ranking technologies to deliver more effective recommendations, using a new model architecture that can efficiently learn from large datasets. This recommendation technology will power various products, including Facebook's entire video ecosystem and Feed recommendations, with the goal of having the world's best recommendation technology by the end of 2026.
Then there is the march of Meta AI across all platforms. For example, if a user comes across a recipe for strawberry cheesecake on Facebook, they can ask Meta AI to provide a dairy-free version with just a click of a button, instantly receiving an answer.
To improve the video experience for its users, Facebook has introduced several updates, including an updated fullscreen video player and a slider that allows users to skip around in longer videos. The company has also noticed an 80% year-over-year increase in private video sharing, prompting the addition of a feature that enables users to quickly send videos to their friends and family, whether on Facebook or through other platforms like WhatsApp.
To support creators, the company has introduced Professional Mode, a simplified product designed for people who want to post publicly and grow a following. This feature has already attracted over 100 million daily active users in just 18 months. Additionally, Facebook has evolved its payout model to reward creators based on how well their content performs, expanding monetisation opportunities to all formats, including photos, videos, and text.
As the company increasingly relies on AI to power its social discovery features, it will need to address concerns related to algorithmic bias, transparency, and privacy. Moreover, as the platform continues to grow and evolve, it will need to ensure that its content moderation practices are effective in combating misinformation, hate speech, and other harmful content.
Facebook's vision for the future is centred around two key pillars: building the next generation of social media for young adults and leveraging the power of AI to enhance social discovery. Keep the users happy and keep the training data flowing.