Feel at home

Nowadays, companies of social networks try to be better and nearer to users. Companies create new possibilities for ‘consumers’ pleasure and convenience. Even if we think that everything is done we still wondering ‘what’s next?’ and then we get answer faster than we thought.

Last Thursday (04.04.2013) Facebook announced the overlay on Android - called Home. Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the world. New Facebook’s app can turn every Android smartphone in the perfect tool for browsing the portal. Launcher will be available to users on April 12th.

 

Mark Zuckerberg said last year said that a phone is “so clearly the wrong strategy for us”. He’s right. He want to reach for more than 10-20 million users (and in such numbers - with a bit of luck - he could sell the smartphone). So he did something brilliantly simple - with regular updates every Android phone will be able to become a "Facebook phone". Finally, the main competitor of Facebook is not Apple, HTC and Samsung, but different social networking sites like Google+ or Twitter. Facebook wants to compete for our attention with them. A new application has a chance to catch it attract attention for longer on longer. This is a great move.

“Today we’re finally gonna talk about that Facebook phone” said Mark Zuckerberg during an announcement on conference. Before that many people thought that the first Facebook phone is manufactured by HTC. The rumors - as usually happens - it turned out to be a bit of a truth. HTC unveiled the HTC model for First - Android phone "specially optimized for Facebook". I would be rather skeptical for this specific optimization, but in fact it will be the first phone with Facebook’s overlay which will be installed by design.

The biggest drawback of Facebook Home is unclear question of the availability of a new application. For now, Facebook Home can be only installed on some devices. According to the official information overlay will be in the first place will be dedicated to:

• HTC One

• HTC One X/X+

• Samsung Galaxy S III

• Samsung Galaxy S 4

• Samsung Galaxy Note II

Nobody said whether we will see the full application compatibility with the Android ecosystem. Android have hundreds of smartphone models, but on the list we see only five devices from the two manufacturers. What about the rest? DO NOT KNOW. Facebook is silent about the issue of compliance.

Facebook Home - hit?

Reviews of the media in the world about Facebook Home are deeply divided.

Eliza Kern from Gigaom points out:

Zuckerberg noted that people check their phone’s lock screens hundreds of times a day, but they might only check the Facebook app 12 or 15 times, and Home aims to change that. So Home, if you choose to use it, would have you checking Facebook more often and consuming more visual content. But will it have you sharing substantially more? That doesn’t seem like a given.

Alexandra Chang from Wired, on the contrary, it is quite logical move on the part of Facebook:

Facebook already has deep integration into the Windows Phone platform, with the ability to populate the main People and Photos hubs. And the social network’s tools are as integrated as Apple will allow in iOS 6. The one major platform missing deeper integration was Android, and it had many more possibilities than the others considering the malleability of the operating system. Facebook Home on Android is a huge step for the social networking company.

Domestic concerns

Deeper interference with our phones brings a number of concerns. New possibility raises up misgivings in many users about their privacy. Users want to enjoy the benefits offered by the popular social networking sites. First of all, they appreciate the access to information about what is happening with friends and family.

Now appear some doubts, if we install Facebook Home in our smartphones do not we lose control over what happens with our data? Will Mark Zuckerberg know what we are doing, where we are and analyzing this data and then he will chose for us terribly well-personalized advertising?

Facebook ensures us that Facebook Home is covered under the same data use policy as the rest of Facebook, and the company said that in a new app is nothing unusual or new about which data it collects.

Despite of it, Facebook Home is not a place for privacy. Everyone should remember - the more you share on Facebook, the more Facebook learns about you. Thanks to the fact advertisers are far more aware of whom they're pitching ads, it’s nothing new. I think that Facebook Home is interesting solution and that concerns about privacy, will be the last obstacle before install and use this launcher for active users.

The concerns also applies to other websites and social networks. People are goods which network companies want to get and use only for earning reasons. But year by year is harder, because people have more expectations, so companies have to be more creative and invest more. Will other companies follow in the footsteps of Facebook Home? What will be next? We will see. 

Marysia Banaś