Facebook encourages micro-sharing with Groups app

Facebook is introducing a new app to bring more focus to its Groups section. The good thing for those who don’t want to download yet another Facebook app is it won’t be completely unbundled from the main Facebook app. What it does is it gives you the option to share and see updates on a more granular level. It’ll let you create new groups (like Family, Co-Workers) or join groups based on interests. Think of it as a more controlled News Feed or how Facebook used to be before it blew up. Facebook won’t say yet if it’ll eventually have ads but if you want go back to the days of social media being about those that really matter to you, this might be a good thing to check out. It’ll be available for both Android and iOS users.

Source: Facebook Newsroom | Via: The Verge

Facebook reportedly meets with Samsung for virtual reality

A report surfaced that Facebook and Samsung recently met up in South Korea. But before you think about whether Facebook is looking to develop another smartphone, it looks like they would rather focus on a new product segment. The two tech giants are reportedly talking about virtual reality technology. As you know, Oculus VR is owned by Facebook and it looks like they are helping Samsung develop its Gear VR headset. Samsung is said to launch the Gear VR in December. We have to wait and see if the Gear VR would bring Samsung the success it has brought them in the tablet and smartphone market.

Source: Ubergizmo

Facebook introduces “I’m safe” notification tool for calamities

Doing their part to help during natural calamities and other disasters, Facebook has introduced Safety Check, which will send subscribers in a certain area hit by a disaster with the notification asking: “Are you OK?” If they select “I’m safe,” their friends in the area will receive the notification on their news feed. If you can’t access Facebook but are safe, your friends can mark you safe as well.

Safety Check will be available all over the world on desktop, iOS, Android, and feature phones. However, a missing feature is you can’t respond “No” and you won’t be able to say if you need rescue. Hopefully, this feature evolves a bit more and would truly make the social network something useful in times of need.

Source: RT

Facebook brings stickers to comments

Love spamming your friends with stickers on Facebook Messenger? Now, you can do the same with comments section. Engineer Bob Baldwin said the comment sticker support originated from a hackathon project in New York and the prototype was created in one night. When it was put through a trial phase, the employees loved it.

Support for stickers will be available on Web, mobile Web, and iOS and Android apps and should be rolling out now. You can insert stickers by tapping on the smiley face icon at the bottom right of the comments field. Now, you no longer need words to say how a certain post makes you feel.

Source: Facebook | Via: Ubergizmo