Facebook Events – Extend Beyond the Keyboard

Listed as the #1 social networking site of all time, Facebook has always been useful for the average user to connect with friends, update your life, be informed about news, and maybe even a little bit of social stalking of others. What about planning events?

We have all experienced an invitation that rather intrigued, interested, or even annoyed us. When focusing on the positives, it is a wonderful feeling to know you are invited to something or that you know there is always something to do if you don’t have any plans. On the other hand, being invited to certain events can make you feel almost guilty about declining (not an easy thing to do). For others, notifications frequently popping up around an uninteresting event can be a bit annoying. To make events more useful for all users, let’s see how Facebook is now implementing “events” into something that can become more convenient and effective for you as a user.

Introducing “Interested”

No one wants to be the person who clicks “decline” because it has such a negative connotation to it. It can either feel extremely harsh or even hurt the feelings of the person or company inviting you to their special event. According to Wired.com, Facebook data scientist Ben Bregman has analyzed how event pages were viewed and with slight changes to the design, the amount of people who viewed public events doubled. A small change included adding the option of clicking “Interested”, which is a pleasant way to say yes and prevent a full commitment. It is a nice gesture to show your interest and show appreciation of your invite.

Algorithms

Have you ever looked something up on the internet, such as “blankets” and immediately blanket advertisements would pop up on Facebook, other social media, or search engines? That is an algorithm to predict your “likes” and interests so that common things you like will appear on your networks. This way, you can get personalized content.

Facebook is trying to make your viewed events more customized for users. Perhaps you click on an event for local bands because you love concerts- you will then start receiving related events to push you in the direction of becoming more interested in Facebook Events.

The problem with algorithms is the simple fact of automatically assuming what you enjoy. For example, accidentally clicking on a link about cats or simply even viewing an event about a cat event doesn’t necessarily mean that you love cats.

Facebook Discovery Feature

Perhaps you would like to do something this weekend, but don’t have anyone to go with you so your only option is to stay home. Facebook is also now informing you on what family and/or friends are attending what events. This action will allow you to actually get to know ahead of time of who is actually checked- in and you won’t be the only one at the event! This way you can also message your friends to try and schedule a place to meet up or attend together.

Events.fb.com

A new feature that Facebook has released is something that you probably have not heard about! Events.fb.com is a separate affiliated site that allows you to post photos, videos, and select a private/public party invite just like the old system. Its sole purpose is to create an amazing event preview of what you are trying to host. Compared to the simple way to create an event through your own personal Facebook home page, events.fb.com adds additional pictures and graphics with each step you take as you navigate through the site to create the perfect event. The site also allows you to interact with the site as you click through the buttons and this feature helps you explore ways to “spread the word” about your event to reach a vast amount of people. Best of all, beautiful pictures and media are placed throughout the site help draw your invitees in and Facebook helps assist you with planning as well.

The goal of Facebook Events is to create an environment where socialization can happen online and extend beyond the keyboard. With adding features that pertain to your interests and creating a more convenient way to reach out or spend time with others, it wouldn’t hurt to preview the variety of ways Facebook is revamping their events section of their site.

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