NOT surprised and it was only a matter of time.
Spending time with each other, be it personal or professional, should be spontaneous, not strained. So to help people feel like they're together, even when they are - or have to be - physically apart, social media giant Facebook has revealed its response to the crazy growth of 'Zoom,' 'Skype' and 'Microsoft Teams' over the past few weeks of the Covid-19 related lockdowns happening pretty much worldwide.
Video calling software is hugely popular at the moment, for obvious reasons, with Zoom the main beneficiary. Now Facebook wants more of the video calling market, and has introduced a new tool called Messenger Rooms.
Facebook Messenger already had video chat feature, but it was limited both in the total number of people allowed to participate, and also in its requirement that all of them have a Facebook account.
With the new Messenger Rooms, that changes. First up, one can host video chats of up to 50 people, and those who don't have a Facebook account can still hop in- they'll receive a link to the Room you have created. With one click they can then join the conversation - just like with Zoom. Importantly, Messenger Rooms has no time limit.
It will be rolling out in certain countries this week before expanding globally, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a livestream on Friday, April 24.
However, I'm curious how responsive will Facebook be with security issues, I am also interested to see if they can make it as rich as allowing screen sharing, whiteboard, etc for heavy webinar users like yours truly.
Stay Active until our next chat!