Facebook Annouces A New Product (Photo : Getty Images)
Facebook wants to use its numbers to dominate also online video sharing and in the process dethrone current leader YouTube. After all, Facebook has more than 1 billion users, many of whom share or view videos.
Among the changes that Facebook rolled out on Wednesday is the introduction of a dedicated place where users could visit if all they want to do is just watch video clips. It is like building a mini YouTube within Facebook, Fox reports.
To access that feature, users must tap a "Videos" icon at the bottom of the Facebook app on the iPhone or in the "Favorites" section on the left-hand side of News Feed on the web. The new feature is part of Facebook's efforts over the years to rely less on YouTube videos as main source of videos posted on the portal. As a result, from only 25 percent in February 2014, new videos directly uploaded to Facebook is now 70 percent of all new videos.
Previously, Facebook allowed users to bookmark videos which they could watch later. Facebook is also working on a feature that would allow users to watch videos in a floating window, allowing them to watch those clips while going through the news feeds. That feature is available in YouTube mobile apps.
In September, Facebook made 360-degree videos viewable on its News Feed. Those videos, though, are perfectly viewable sans virtual reality (VR) glasses. But it is an indicator of more Facebook content being optimized for VR as part of the company's focus on VR technology as announced by Mark Zuckerberg, following its purchase in 2014 for $2 billion Oculus VR.
