Facebook is set to make bold moves to more effectively compete with TikTok.
Aside from the Reels short videos, the Facebook app is set for a major design overhaul to make that happen.
Facebook's main feed will heavily emphasize recommended content from pages, creators and people you don't already follow, according to a memo from a Facebook executive that quoted by The Verge.
Facebook to Transition to Become 'Discovery Engine' Based on 'Unconnected' Content Recommendations
The memo, which was issued by Meta's Facebook app head Tom Alison underscores that the company intends to transform Facebook into a "Discovery Engine," which relies on recommendations, strikingly similar to TikTok's "For You" feed. Recommendations would mainly emanate from "unconnected" content, including Reels, and, as a result, users would see fewer posts from friends and family in their feeds. This strategy will also have the Messenger inbox return to the Facebook app in an effort to encourage users to share more content from the "Discovery Engine."
It's not known when Meta will implement these changes, although some similar changes have been implemented at Instagram. This is also not the first time top Meta announced plans for big changes on Facebook's app, or even the first time we've heard about a shift to a"Discovery Engine." CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in April that the company was making a "major shift" that changes the dynamics of feeds to highlight AI-driven recommendations over users' social behavior.
Yet the memo still makes it clear just how important the overhaul is for the company, which is desperately trying to gain traction in its competition with TikTok.
Alison also admitted that Meta had been slow to recognize TikTok's competitive threat, even as it initially grew by shocking Facebook and Instagram with its ad placement volume. Currently, Meta considers TikTok as rapidly encroaching on its core service of social networking, with Alison emphasizing the prominence of private messaging in TikTok and the dedicated tab for viewing videos from friends.
Recommendations-based Pivot May Be Problematic for Facebook
However, the transition to a recommendations-based platform may likewise be problematic for the company. Facebook's present recommendation algorithms have been crticized for causing divisiveness and pushing disinformation.
And, while Alison told The Verge that Meta would enforce stricter rules for recommended content, the company has always found it difficult to impose its own rules. Alison said in his memo Alison that Meta is changing the way it perceives its obligation to lessen "negative experiences."
"Reducing negative experiences" Alison said, "has been removed as a product priority" brecause it is now linked to the "product culture since it's more aptly tied to the "product culture" the company seeks to foster of being 'Trustworthy,' 'People-Centric,' and 'Unified." Meta's focus, he said, is to make "this this holistically across all of our products as a permanent part of our culture" and not just a short-term product priority.
