Facebook readying Flipboard-like mobile news reader: Report
Facebook's rumoured Reader service would curate news in a Flipboard-like format and will be tailor-made for mobile users.
With the volume of sharing and interaction growing on social networking sites, Facebook, very much like Twitter, has emerged as a major platform for news sharing. The social networking giant is reportedly eyeing to tap the trend with its own news delivery service, internally dubbed as Reader. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the service displays content from Facebook users and publishers in a new visual layout, customised for mobile devices.
The report further said the service is in the works for more than a year. Reader is said to be highly similar with Flipboard, the popular news reading and sharing app that aggregates content from different sources and allows users to flip through stories.
Facebook hasn’t commented on the reports yet.
Facebook has been exploring various ways to generate revenues from its mobile users. Back in April, the company launched Facebook Home, which has a replacement home screen enables users to view and post content on the network along with launching apps.
As far as news goes, Facebook has already updated the news-feed section on its web version that gives prominence to content from news publishers. The company recently rolled out #hashtags feature, already a popular feature on Twitter. The hashtags enables users to click and see what other friends are posting about a trending topic.
Despite Google’s departure from the service, news aggregation apps are becoming increasingly popular. Companies such as Digg and AOL are already looking to tap the growing market. Facebook’s Reader, however, would have an extra edge with its gigantic users base and more ‘sharing’ features.
Would you prefer Facebook’s Reader over other existing news aggregating services? Let us know in the comments section below:
Source: WSJ