I’ll admit I’m not a technician. What I mean by that is I don’t know how to write code. I’m an observer and user of technology. I can imagine new and exciting things for technology to do. But I cannot, myself, build technology.
So when Facebook has its big F8 developer’s conference each year, there’s little reason for me to pay attention to the live stream and such. I haven’t a clue what they’re talking about.
But I study up after and try to see what marketers can get out of it, how the new and exciting might change the landscape, and so on. Now the dust has settled on this year’s F8, here’s my big takeaway:
Google must now fear Facebook because messenger bots have the ability to change search forever.
No one has ever been able to compete with Google on search. When people want to find something, what do they do? They Google it. Much has been made about the younger generation’s shift to asking their friends on social networks, like Facebook, but the most qualified answers that come back are from friends who Googled it.
But messenger bots change the potential of Facebook to carve out ownership of the search marketplace. In the very near future, you’ll go to Facebook Messenger and type your search queries the way people would, not using weird, Boolean syntax. You’ll type something like, “Where can I get my car detailed?” And a bot will answer back, “Are you more concerned about price or proximity?” You respond with price. It asks if you want to know the highest rated overall or the highest rated by your friends. You respond friends and it tells you the Sparkle Bright on Market Street is both highly rated and reasonable.
Imagine if Google helped you narrow your search by chatting back with you to better define it. That’s what Facebook will soon have. And when it does, even us old fogies raised on search will begin to migrate.
All that, and you didn’t need to know one lick of code.
Your thoughts? Agree? Disagree? The comments are yours.