Messenger Now Using 'Conversation Topics' to Stimulate Chatter
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| marketingland.com |
If you have something to tell them, that's fine, lead with that, but beyond that, it gets more difficult. 'hi', 'hey' or 'hello' tend to leave you adrift almost immediately after you've said them, and 'let's talk' is a bit too on the nose. Well, what if Facebook could actually tell you what you ought to be talking about, so you don't have to think about it?
Seemingly that's a feature that they've been incubating, as a few users have noticed a 'Conversation Topics' header. Friends show up beneath it as they normally would, except with a little note about something they did recently that you might want to ask them about. In a similar fashion to Favourites, Conversation Topics have their own little designated area on the home screen, but whether it randomly selects people who have checked-in recently or only picks from your top friends is unclear.
It doesn't just stop at check-ins, though. Music streaming, events and may well extend to other kinds of Facebook activity. This kind of follows on from the recent addition of new friends to the Messenger bar, encouraging you to chat with people who are new to your friends list, and now you have a better reason to do so.Facebook have some awesome people working on @messenger. It showed @trixieavis 'conversation topics inc what I'm listening to. pic.twitter.com/2NEcFp8A9r— (((Dan Simpson))) (@iamthedans) October 11, 2016
This could also be characterised as a way of making Messenger more of a place to hang around, rather than just on in the background. If you have a more condensed, streamlined feed of what people are doing, you won't have to scroll through the normal News Feed to find out, which means you'll be using it more for keeping up with general news. This is probably a convenient coincidence rather than a specific aim, but it fits Facebook's current directive pretty neatly.
Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @Songbird_Callum
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Messenger Now Using 'Conversation Topics' to Stimulate Chatter
Reviewed by Unknown
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Thursday, October 20, 2016
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Reviewed by Unknown
on
Thursday, October 20, 2016
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Unknown
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