New Facebook Messaging: Social Inbox Is 'Not Email'

by Jordan Yerman | November 15, 2010 at 10:41 am

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Facebook Unveils New Messaging System

Facebook unveiled a revamped messaging system during its November 15 announcement in San Francisco. So, is this Facebook email? Yes and no (but, really, mostly yes).

Facebook Email Announcement: November 15

You can have a Facebook email address: the new messaging system will allow for "facebook.com" email messaging, but is not meant as a standalone email service (such as Gmail or Yahoo). Facebook is shying away from declaring an intention to replace standalone email.

The idea behind the new Facebook messaging system is to allow seamless communications that integrate chat and email, as well as filtering out the less-important messages coming your way.

So you're going to have to go back into your privacy settings yet again, to make sure the right people are (or aren't) able to message you.

Will There Be Ads in New Facebook Messaging?

There will be ads present in the new Facebook messaging, but Zuckerberg said that the targeting will not be based on the text of the ongoing conversation, but only on the existing settings of the accounts involved in the exchange.

The goal, according to Facebook, is for the messaging system to feel like a conversation, rather than a series of emails.

This product has taken over 1 year to develop. Mark Zuckerberg is emphasizing that this is not an email killer. “We don’t expect anyone to wake up tomorrow and I’m going to shut down my Yahoo account and switch exclusively to Facebook.” We think that people are moving towards real-time, simpler communication.

But you don’t need an app. It’s important to note that this can work with SMS too.

And yes, everyone can get an @facebook.com email address if they want. But they don’t need to get one — you can use any email address. And yes, IMAP support is coming soon too (but not just yet)

Message forwarding will also be possible, and (finally) you can add people to existing message threads, as well as opt to leave an ongoing thread.

Facebook is not committing to a VOIP element to its messaging yet.

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