Facebook's F8 app hints at big changes for Messenger
Typical. Just when you're about to unveil a new project at your own developer conference, the event's companion app breaks the news ahead of time. A notification from Facebook's F8 app, presumably scheduled for the 26th, went out early to inform conference attendees that the company was announcing two new initiatives: Parse for IoT and Messenger as a Platform.
For those not in the know, Parse is the company's app-building division, purchased back in 2013. From the slender information available, it's a fair guess that Facebook wants in on the Internet of Things market. Beyond that, who knows, but maybe we can get our oven connected to our account so that we get a poke when the pizza rolls are done.
If you wanted to jump to a similar conclusion regarding Messenger as a Platform, it looks as if Facebook wants to bring other brands onto its homegrown communicator. An earlier report by TechCrunch surmised that the company wanted to turn Messenger into a clone of Asian chat apps like Line and WeChat.
The app notification also revealed that the conference's Teleportation Station was now open, which we assume is either an Oculus demo or a high-faultin' way of saying "coffee area." Since F8 kicks-off tomorrow, it won't be long before we get confirmation, but we'll keep an ear out from any anguished screaming emanating from Chateau Zuckerberg this morning.
