Like a great chess master, Facebook in a single move, has complicated things for Google's and Apple's plans of world domination. This move has been dubbed Facebook "Home"
Facebook Home Is
Well here is the fun part, Mark Zuckerberg didn't exactly describe what it is, but rather what it isn't. According to the Facebook Founder, "Home" isn't a phone, it isn't an operating system and isn't an app, at least the like we've been used to. And to a large extent he is correct. "Home" is a layer that sits on top of the Android that provide a Facebook-centric view of the world. To everyday Facebook users, that means being able to see on your home screen, the latest messages from your friends, their events as well as status updates. All powered by Facebook For many of us, that is our world.
But there is more. Home is more than a Dashboard for you and your friends Facebook activity. Indeed it aims to make unnecessary, any visit to the the Android operating system, by including an App Launcher within their experience. This means that b just dragging your favorite apps to it, you can launch Instagram or Facebook Messenger from it.
Why Was Home A Brilliant Play
Strategically, its a brilliant play. By staying away from hardware, FB focuses on two areas its been known for. The first area would be our social habits and communication patterns, while the second area is building a great experience. Don't agree with me on the latter, well go back to the old MySpace for a refresher course of what social meant prior to FB.
Another reason why I applaud the play is from an experience stand point it's a Trojan Horse for Google, effectively using Google's very own success at distributing Android while at the same time creating an experience layer that aims to monopolize user's interaction, time and attention.
Lastly by leveraging HTC to bring a phone to the market specifically designed with Home in mind and at such a low price point, it adopts Android low pricing strategy to attack developing markets, the markets which are seeing the greatest growth for Facebook.
Here is a great article on the strategy and one on the launch
What do you think of Home? If you are an android user will you download the app?