Facebook has made a huge update today which lets public profile administrators add mobile support to their public profiles. This means public profiles now have the same mobile functionality that Twitter currently provides, including the ability to update status updates and receive mobile updates from public profiles. Users can also choose to be come a fan of a public profile via their phone.
For example, if you’d like to fan AllFacebook you can simply text “fan allfacebook” to 32665 and you will now automatically be added as a fan. One thing that you can’t currently do is receive updates via text but that appears to only be one step away. At that point, Facebook will have completely duplicated all of Twitter’s functionality.
So what is left for Facebook to duplicate Twitter’s service? The only thing remaining is extended API access to Facebook public profiles which includes unlimited access to status updates and comments. At that point, Facebook will have essentially accomplished the task of “handling the Twitter threat“. The only thing left to see is whether or not Twitter users will use a Facebook public profile instead of their Twitter account.
Additionally, Facebook will need an easy way to reply to users’ comments, mimicking the functionality provided by Twitter’s at replies (“@ reply”). This is a fairly big update and it will be interesting to see if Facebook succeeds at “out opening” Twitter. Is there any other functionality that you would like to see in Facebook’s mobile features?
Do you think these updates will succeed at reducing the amount of time people spend on Twitter or is this a pointless effort? Thanks to the Kbuzz for tipping us off about this functionality.
I wish the FB team would figure out the commenting by Admins on their Pages… As is, I get the form to comment on things like wall posts by fans, but when I submit, the comments don't stick. I really don't care whether they let me leave comments as my personal profile or my public profile, but I really would like the ability to respond.
Ideally, they'd even let me choose to comment as either my personal profile or my public profile. In additional to my own fan page, I'm an admin for a page of a well-known author, and I so wish I could be both the admin of his page (in order to moderate spam links, photos, etc.) but also leave comments and enter the discussion boards as my personal profile.
Comment by Dustin Luther — March 26, 2009 @ 2:03 pm
How do we enable the mobile functionality? I've looked at my page admin screen, but I don't see anything about mobile updates. The Buzz Marketing blog post that you link to suggests this is a beta feature available to only selected profiles. I'd like to know more detail on when the rest of us will get it, and where to find it!
Comment by Briana Tomkinson — March 26, 2009 @ 2:19 pm
"The only thing remaining is extended API access to Facebook public profiles which includes unlimited access to status updates and comments."
Uh, the lack of public access to all status updates and comments, limiting access to those to a person's own friends network – aren't those defining qualities of Facebook?
Comment by Marshall Kirkpatrick — March 26, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
i only wish they support more then US/Canada/UK carrier networks.
Comment by Knight Tan — March 26, 2009 @ 10:32 pm
@Marshall, there are no limits on access to the updates of public profiles. You are talking about individual user profiles which is separate. From a business or celebrity's perspective, Facebook public profiles now almost offer the exact same functionality that twitter provides.
Comment by Nick ONeill — March 27, 2009 @ 5:54 am
So Facebook's new secret business model is to reinvent itself as a corporate-dominated Twitter clone? That's a little insane, isn't it? Who wants their phone buzzing with messages from Coca-Cola and American Apparel all day long? There's a reason most people shun SMS marketing, you know.
Anyway, there is more logistical work to do in twitterizing Facebook, in that Facebook's messaging model currently includes multiple types of messages between users: status updates, two kinds of wall posts (users can post on their own wall and their friends' walls), comments on status updates, pokes, and mail. That message model might be too complex to manage over SMS like Twitter — a lot of Twitter users still have trouble with a three-format (update, @reply, direct message) model. So Facebook either has to invent a brilliantly easy-to-use SMS-based system for message management, simplify the one it has, or limit its twitterish phone users to a limited version of the system.
Sounds like a tall order for a bunch who can't even create a usable homepage, doesn't it?
Comment by Facebook User — March 27, 2009 @ 6:32 am
Nick, I'd argue that you're looking at this only from a promotional perspective. From a business perspective, a large portion of the value that Twitter offers is in the minable data of the entirely public communication that goes on there. Businesses may communicate publicly on Facebook, but the vast majority of communication that goes on on Facebook is private, which means it will never be able to capture a lot of the value that businesses can get from Twitter. I wrote about the "twitter platform" last week (link in URL field of this comment) and I bring it up here because I don't believe Facebook can replicate the most valuable parts of Twiter, no matter hard they try. They might be able to get close enough for almost everyone, and the uncaptured value of Twitter might go unappreciated, but that would be a bummer for the whole internet if that happened. Both services offer unique value that neither can duplicate, in my opinion.
Comment by Marshall Kirkpatrick — March 27, 2009 @ 6:52 am
Application at the moment can NOT be added to the Facebook pages. It seems to be a great application and should be limited to Public Profiles only otherwise it will be too much to handle. I have over 600 frnds on my personal profile. I think I would continue getting sms every single second.
But on my page, I send an update twice or thrice every day. So that is affordable for the fans I believe.
Comment by Kunwar — March 27, 2009 @ 6:53 am
You make a legitimate argument Marshall. I hadn't thought about it as much from that perspective. The one thing that I wonder about though is whether or not page comments will actually become public information that's accessible via Facebook's API. Personally, I believe they will but as implied by your comment, that may very well violate Facebook users' privacy.
Comment by Nick ONeill — March 27, 2009 @ 7:06 am
Twitter is public chat with some key usability enhancements. If FB wants to match Twitter they should be upgrading the chat client.
Comment by Facebook User — March 27, 2009 @ 7:24 am
Nick
Thanks for the information.
Is this US only, or available in the UK as well?
Comment by Paul Madden — March 27, 2009 @ 9:13 am
Looks like they have now added the ability to subscribe to users' status updates via SMS… in the left side under the profile photos I am now seeing:
View Photos of
View Videos of
Send a Message
Poke
Subscribe via SMS
Comment by Andrew Cafourek — June 17, 2009 @ 9:03 am