Facebook is looking to introduce a Get Caught Up feature to its Watch interface, getting users up to date on all recent and relevant video media on the platform.
Get Caught Up, as reported via screencaps posted by social media app researcher Matt Navarra, essentially seems to be a curated selection of videos that address generally prevalent interests and current news reporting. The general idea seems to be that, considering how much users rely on social media for their daily fix of the world's happenings, Facebook provides a dedicated space that users can easily access for that very fix.
The addition to Facebook Watch's interface is at the top-most section, presenting as the first video to pop up. Users can cycle between relevant videos by sliding left to right as opposed to the typical up and down mechanism the social network is familiar with. A Get Caught Up heading is also provided, with an information bubble right next to the text that informs users about the new feature, as well as discussing the video duration procedure at more length.
The videos are curated by Facebook's own team of developers. Factors that go into selecting a video for featuring include their current-day relevance or the amount of general interest they hold, along with content from paid parents of the company. While news related content accompanies the aforementioned two categories, they are curated by a separate team of more news-savvy individuals looking to add impartial and informed pieces to the feature, in a time of active political turmoil.
While the sentiment is nice, it seems that Facebook can absolutely not abstain from slightly souring any experience they share with the general userbase. In this case, it is the mentioned presence of content from Facebook's partners. Paid partners, to be more specific. Partners that, assessing the innate advantage accompanied by money, might just shove the curating service's attempts at providing genuinely relevant content to the wayside, cheapening the feature's overall effect.
But when is this feature expected to roll out? Well, not anytime soon. The Get Caught Up feature is currently only available on a limited number of phones, as the product itself enters a form of beta testing. Working out kinks and dealing with user feedback can take anywhere from a few weeks to months at end, therefore setting the feature's official release date at least a few months into the future.
Read next: Facebook will launch a smart watch next year which will focus on health and fitness mostly, as reported
Get Caught Up, as reported via screencaps posted by social media app researcher Matt Navarra, essentially seems to be a curated selection of videos that address generally prevalent interests and current news reporting. The general idea seems to be that, considering how much users rely on social media for their daily fix of the world's happenings, Facebook provides a dedicated space that users can easily access for that very fix.
The addition to Facebook Watch's interface is at the top-most section, presenting as the first video to pop up. Users can cycle between relevant videos by sliding left to right as opposed to the typical up and down mechanism the social network is familiar with. A Get Caught Up heading is also provided, with an information bubble right next to the text that informs users about the new feature, as well as discussing the video duration procedure at more length.
The videos are curated by Facebook's own team of developers. Factors that go into selecting a video for featuring include their current-day relevance or the amount of general interest they hold, along with content from paid parents of the company. While news related content accompanies the aforementioned two categories, they are curated by a separate team of more news-savvy individuals looking to add impartial and informed pieces to the feature, in a time of active political turmoil.
While the sentiment is nice, it seems that Facebook can absolutely not abstain from slightly souring any experience they share with the general userbase. In this case, it is the mentioned presence of content from Facebook's partners. Paid partners, to be more specific. Partners that, assessing the innate advantage accompanied by money, might just shove the curating service's attempts at providing genuinely relevant content to the wayside, cheapening the feature's overall effect.
But when is this feature expected to roll out? Well, not anytime soon. The Get Caught Up feature is currently only available on a limited number of phones, as the product itself enters a form of beta testing. Working out kinks and dealing with user feedback can take anywhere from a few weeks to months at end, therefore setting the feature's official release date at least a few months into the future.
Read next: Facebook will launch a smart watch next year which will focus on health and fitness mostly, as reported
