Facebook – Dial M.

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Facebook is making the right moves to become an ecosystem.

• Facebook’s intentions to become a fully-fledged ecosystem have come into sharper relief with the launch of its own personal digital assistant, Facebook M.
• Facebook M will appear inside Messenger as a contact that is permanently on line and is there to fulfil requests and answer queries.
• The main difference between Facebook M and Google Now, Siri and Cortana is that it is part artificial intelligence and part human.
• This makes Facebook M a cross between the established digital assistants and concierge services like Taskrabbit which use humans to fulfil the requests.
• The problem with humans is that while they can ensure that any request is fulfilled, it is an expensive service to provide.
• Facebook’s aim is to move as much of this as possible into artificial intelligence but even with humans on board I think that it is facing an uphill battle for three reasons:
  • First: Machine learning. Facebook is a personal data and communication company and while it does employ a degree of machine learning it is not in Google’s class.
  • Consequently, it is unlikely to be able to provide better responses to queries and know what it is that the user is really after than Google Now.
  • I suspect that both Apple and Cortana will show better machine learning sitting behind them than Facebook M.
  • Second: integration. Facebook relies on the platforms of others to deliver its service and experience to users.
  • This means that it will not have the same kind of access to other apps and services that will be required to make the service best in class.
  • For example, because Microsoft and Google own many more Digital Life services, they can ensure that their assistants have better access to those services than competitors.
  • Hence, it is quite possible that without its own services (outside of social networking) that Facebook will struggle to keep up with others.
  • Third: Ease of access. Facebook M will, for now, only exist inside the messenger client.
  • This means that the user will have to unlock the device, click on Messenger, click the M user and then put in his query or request.
  • Siri, Cortana and Google Now can all be accessed simply by talking to a locked device on standby.
  • This access is again possible because the companies behind these services all have complete or significant control of the platforms upon which the service is offered.
  • Ease of access has long been known to be a key factor in how much an app or service gets used.
• The net result is that in this current form, Facebook M still needs a lot of work, greater automation and integration into the ecosystem if it is to really take on the other three.
• However, this is yet another sign that Facebook has grasped how important it is for its long term outlook to have a wider range of Digital Life services beyond just social networking.
• Facebook M joins gaming (see here) as new services that break Facebook out from just being an app and usher it into the world of the ecosystem.
• This move further distances Facebook from Twitter which is still wondering it needs to do to break free of the stagnation that now besets it.
• I would choose Facebook over Twitter without hesitation and am even warming up to Facebook despite its lofty valuation.