Facebook revamps events feature; gets simplified on iOS

26 Feb 2019

Facebook, Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has brought a major improvement to the events feature, allowing the user to specify the date if they are looking to party or attend an event. The social networking site has also brought in a new update for iOS that streamlines event invitations, making it faster and easier.

Though Facebook has allowed users to search for nearby events,  the new Events Discovery has made the process easier and simpler. Facebook will suggest potential events on your data through the Suggested For You section. Users can choose any section, and the options will be displayed with the complete details of the event. Facebook will no longer suggest random event dates.

There is also a “Popular in Your Area” section, but the feature is available only in a few cities. In the iOS update, users will now have more control over searching events, instead of the focus on the accept or decline request that you’ve been sent.

The iOS update was rolled out a few days back, but Android and desktop users will have to wait for sometime. A year ago, Facebook  started to display public events in the news feed, and this had a positive effect on events with a lot of attendees.

“A good example [is] getting teens engaged again with Facebook, and it’s doing this successfully via Instagram,” says Digital Clarity Group analyst Alan Pelz-Sharpe. “Over time, those users will hopefully be reintroduced back into the core Facebook family.”
With access to users’ personal data and what’s going on, Facebook ha decided to upgrade its Events feature, which has more than 450 million active users as of July. Facebook wants people to spend more time in real life, instead of being online.

However, Facebook will need to differentiate between events by prioritizing high RSVP-to-invite ratio, so spam invites can be prevented. Facebook is also likely to generate revenue from sponsored events while users will also be able to connect with new friends.

View Other Reports