Technology has made everything complicated and simplified, ironically. Facebook’s announcement of its new messaging system has brought mixed reactions from both businesses and skeptics alike. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg aims to integrate various methods of messaging to create simpler, more immediate, and seamless means of incorporating email, SMS, instant messages, Facebook posts, and text messages, into one platform. As with every new development in the world of social media, there are pros and cons to Facebook’s new messaging system.
Theoretically, the arrival of Facebook’s new messaging system eliminates the need to distinguish between emails, SMS, instant messages, Facebook posts, etc. as it incorporates everything in a “social inbox”. Some users will certainly welcome the coming of a system that simplifies the diverse ways we communicate with each other when it comes to social media and social networking sites. That all types of communication are located in one place and in one continuous stream is a major benefit for users to explore Facebook’s new messaging system.
Facebook’s simplicity and continuity of messages may be successful in ways that other systems have failed just because its sheer size and the fact that most people we want to communicate with are on the networking site anyway.
In any case, email providers need not worry. Attachments may be the downfall of Facebook’s new messaging system and they may be entering an arena that other email services such as Google have already mastered. Also, integrating email from Gmail and Facebook will only make Google and other email services more important. Google is expected to become a real player in the social media world in 2011 if they decide to improve GoogleMe and Google Buzz. While Google sees Facebook as its competitor in social media, Google is still in a position that Facebook may only covet for now.
Many skeptics believe the use of social media is very limited, especially in the workplace. Businesses should not rush to switch to new messaging systems especially from Facebook as the social networking site isn’t really viewed as an optimal area for inter- and intra-business communications. Simply put, not many employees want to mix work and non-work communications.
Finally, Facebook really needs to beef up its security because protecting its users’ privacy is not something for which they are known. While Zuckerberg and the rest of the Facebook team insists that the new system will be more secure and private, the social networking site’s track record is probably enough for users to be discouraged in using Facebook’s messaging system.