Coming soon, Facebook for campus! FB to allow college students join college events, interact with classmates
The product is launching with 30 colleges and universities beginning Thursday.
By Bloomberg |
Agencies
It’s possible Facebook Campus will also help the company stay relevant with college-age users.
By Kurt Wagner
Facebook Inc. will soon let college students create special profiles specifically for connecting with classmates and joining campus events and groups -- a return of sorts to the company’s early days when Facebook was exclusive to college students after Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg founded the social network in his Harvard dorm.
The new product, called Facebook Campus, will be part of the company’s existing service, but users must create a special profile using their university email address. The profile will be visible only to other students at their college and students will be able to join groups, find campus events and participate in classroom discussions.
The idea is to give students a “private, dedicated space to interact with their college life,” said Charmaine Hung, a Facebook product manager overseeing the effort. Profiles can include information like a student’s major, which dorm they live in, and what classes they’re taking. “We wanted to allow people to add information related to their specific college that they may not necessarily want to put on their main Facebook profile,” she added.
Hung said Facebook’s product will help students who aren’t actually living at school to stay connected with classmates and others at the many colleges and universities using full- or part-time remote learning to protect against the spread of Covid-19.
The product is launching with 30 colleges and universities beginning Thursday, including Duke University, Northwestern University and Virgina Tech.
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As Facebook has gotten bigger and added features, the company has also been pushing users toward more intimate ways to share, including private groups and messaging. When Facebook launched a dating feature in the U.S. last September, it asked users to create dating-specific profiles as a way to keep their dating life separate from their broader Facebook network. Campus operates in a similar way.
“People are looking for a space to connect around interests that are smaller than their entire Facebook” circle of friends, Hung said.
It’s possible Facebook Campus will also help the company stay relevant with college-age users. The network’s popularity among teens has waned in recent years, though the company’s Instagram photo-sharing service has maintained a strong following among young people. Instagram isn’t currently involved in Facebook Campus, Hung said, but could be included in some way in the future.
New Look, Facebook Dating: Big Announcements From F8
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After a tumultuous 2018, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stressed on a privacy-focused social network at the Facebook F8 developer conference this year. In the keynote, Zuckerberg said that they are pushing hard on helping people to connect with close family and friends. He unveiled a revamped and redesigned version of Facebook, called the FB5 which aims at making navigation easier, improve the loading time and giving the user a cleaner appearance. The updated mobile app is rolling out now. The desktop version will be released in the next few months.
Along with changes to the core app, Facebook also announced updates to Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Oculus Quest and Rift S virtual reality headsets — and introduced a new feature, Facebook Dating.
Here's a look at all things new.
After a tumultuous 2018, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stressed on a privacy-focused social network at the Facebook F8 developer conference this year. In the keynote, Zuckerberg said that they a..
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The app's redesign has been the most prominent ever-since the social network's launch. The new look rolls-out in the US today, and for the rest of the world in the coming weeks. The redesign on mobile has been happening in stages, it has already begun on both iOS and Android. The desktop redesign will begin testing in the next few months, which will update the web design to look and feel more modern and fresh, similar to the mobile app.
The app's redesign has been the most prominent ever-since the social network's launch. The new look rolls-out in the US today, and for the rest of the world in the coming weeks. The redesign on mobil..
Read More
With private messaging as one of the fastest growing areas of online communication, the company debuted a desktop version of the app. Previously, you could use Messenger from a web browser, but couldn’t use certain features on the platform like group calling. Facebook is also testing a 'group watch' feature, where people can invite others to watch a video together in real time while messaging or on a video chat.
For businesses, it has created an automated system that allows customers to book an appointment through Messenger.
The company is also working on features that will allow Messenger users to message and call people on Instagram and WhatsApp.
With private messaging as one of the fastest growing areas of online communication, the company debuted a desktop version of the app. Previously, you could use Messenger from a web browser, but could..
Read More
Keeping in mind the theme for this year, 'the future is private', members within groups will be able to anonymously post questions and share information. For those seeking jobs, you will be able to message the employer and apply through the app. Gaming groups will get a chat feature so members can create threads about specific topics within a group. Facebook is working to downplay recommendations from groups known for spreading misinformation, and deleting groups that break the company’s community standards.
Keeping in mind the theme for this year, 'the future is private', members within groups will be able to anonymously post questions and share information. For those seeking jobs, you will be able to m..
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Facebook Dating which was introduced at last year's F8, is now expanding to 14 more countries. It introduced a feature called 'Secret Crush', which does exactly what you’d expect. You can create a secret list of Facebook friends you’re attracted to, whether or not they have a dating profile. You will be lucky, if they are also using Secret Crush, and add you to their list, Facebook will notify the two of you that there’s a match.
Facebook Dating which was introduced at last year's F8, is now expanding to 14 more countries. It introduced a feature called 'Secret Crush', which does exactly what you’d expect. You can create a se..
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Photo sharing app Instagram is getting an update on its camera interface, adding a new 'Create Mode', which makes it easier to share content beyond traditional photos and videos, like quizzes. It is also expanding a feature that lets people buy products from inside the app, opening it to artists, athletes, and other creators in addition to companies. Shifting the focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get, the feature will get a trial run in Canada, and if it proves popular, it might be rolled out in other countries.
Photo sharing app Instagram is getting an update on its camera interface, adding a new 'Create Mode', which makes it easier to share content beyond traditional photos and videos, like quizzes. It is ..
Read More
Two new headsets that replace external tracking cameras with a much more user-friendly inside-out system, the Quest and Rift S both cost $399, and they’re shipping on May 21st in 22 countries. The Quest, a self-contained console is aimed at a mass market, and the Rift S is an incremental upgrade to the 2016 Oculus Rift.
Two new headsets that replace external tracking cameras with a much more user-friendly inside-out system, the Quest and Rift S both cost $399, and they’re shipping on May 21st in 22 countries. The Qu..
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