Facebook initially started out as a website accessed on the computer before they moved onto mobile and released a Facebook app. They then proceeded to release more apps, like Poke, Messenger, Paper, and Home. They have also acquired apps like WhatsApp and Instagram. Some of their apps have been huge successes, like Messenger, and some have fallen short of expectations, like Home and Poke.
That being said, during Facebook’s earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg revealed the company’s blueprint for future standalone apps that they are planning on launching in the future. We’re not sure what kind of apps Facebook has planned for the future, but they are definitely looking at more standalone apps, but how does the company plan on deciding which apps are worth their while and which aren’t?
First Facebook’s Creative Labs will build the app with specific purposes, like Messenger, for example. Next Facebook will determine if the app is resonating with users and if it does, Facebook will attempt to push it to the 100 millon users mark and once that happens, it is only then that Facebook will attempt to monetize it.
In the case of apps like WhatsApp and Instagram, Facebook will be focusing more on growth, and according to Zuckerberg, he admits that in order to reach the levels of WhatsApp and Instagram, Facebook’s Creative Labs apps will most probably take a few years. If anything this just proves that Facebook is in it for the long haul, as opposed to making a quick buck.
We’ve seen this before when Facebook bought out Oculus VR, a company whose product does not really have much to do with social networking in the first place, hinting that Facebook is looking to expand beyond being just another social network.