Tag: Facebook

The social media giant is now offering new options to help users to be able to connect more conveniently.

Facebook Messenger may not be the most popular mobile messaging application, but it isn’t all that far behind WhatsApp and it has now introduced additional features, including barcodes comparable to QR codes, which are meant to help people to better communicate with their friends and family members…and businesses and brands.

There usage of the mobile app has never been larger, as 900 million people use it every month.

That data is according to Mark Zuckerberg, himself. These days, people use the social network for a great deal more than just posting food pics and cranking about what has happened to them. It has become a very important business tool. It is specifically for this reason that many of the new features such as QR codes have been added to the application. It will make it much easier for businesses to converse with their customers and for people to investigate and communicate with the brands they like.

Among those features are barcodes similar to QR codes, as well as Messenger Links for faster conversation launching.

The barcodes are actually being called Messenger Codes, although they look just like a redesigned version of a quick response code. On the other hand, the links are just as self-explanatory, as they come in the form of a regular URL that can be tapped in order to begin a conversation over Facebook Messenger. The URLs are designed in the form of m.me/username and are essentially an extension of the traditional vanity URL.

The Messenger Codes appear to be regular QRcodes but that have undergone a facelift. They can be scanned using the camera of a smartphone or tablet and function as a shortcut into a conversation through the mobile app, instead of having to manually enter any identification info.

Zuckerberg described this take on QR codes by saying that “Messenger Codes let you just pull out your phone and scan someone else’s code — it’s the new circular pattern surrounding their profile photo in Messenger settings. Messenger then starts a conversation with them. No more misspelled names or mistyped phone numbers.”

Code discovered in Messenger app hints at mobile commerce functionality

Facebook Messenger may soon become a hub for mobile payments. Code hidden within the application itself hints that Facebook may choose to make the app a mobile commerce tool, contrary to what the company had said in the past. Facebook has shown strong interest in mobile commerce, but had not intended to make the Messenger app into a new payment platform, opting instead to focus on other solutions. This may be changing, however, as Facebook begins to feel the need to compete with other companies in the mobile commerce space.

Facebook had been relatively disinterested in mobile payments in the past

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, had claimed that the company was not looking to break into the mobile commerce space in any considerable way. This is contrary to what the company has been dowing in the recent past, however, as Facebook has been making it possible for businesses to connect with consumers more dynamically and making it easier for consumers to purchase products online. Like other companies, Facebook has shown interest in the concept of social commerce, which involves consumers using social media sites to shop for and purchase products.

Social media companies are becoming more involved in mobile commerce

The company is not the only one within the social media space that is interested in mobile payments. Twitter, Pinterest, and several other companies have also begun breaking into the mobile commerce market. This market is quite competitive due to the numerous companies that have broken into the sector. Retailers are becoming very eager to embrace mobile shoppers, however, which is forcing social media companies to support mobile payments in order to better serve retailers using their services.

New features may be coming to Facebook Messenger

There are other features coming to Facebook Messenger as well, including a feature that could allow consumers to have “secret conversations.” This could operate in the same way as the “incognito” mode on web browsers, which prevents them from recording browsing history. Facebook has not yet commented on the discovery of the code within the Messenger app, but it may indicate that the company is beginning to grow more aggressive in the mobile commerce space.