Buzz
Facebook states that there are over 1.8 billion people using Groups each month, and the number of people creating Facebook groups continues to rise - this is a feature that was launched a decade ago and the company is bringing a range of new features into Groups. One notable update that Facebook has revealed is that they will display discussions from public groups elsewhere on their platform.
- Read more: How to create a group on Facebook on both computer and mobile
When you share a link or a post, you may see related discussions from various groups, including groups you're not a member of, appearing on your News Feed. Relevant discussions will also appear in the enhanced Groups tab. Moreover, search tools will be able to index public Facebook Group conversations.
The company proposes changes to 'help users encounter diverse perspectives and engage in discussions with others from different backgrounds and life experiences.' Whether this new capability will work well remains to be seen. Essentially, exposing people to different viewpoints can be a positive step.
However, Facebook groups, especially private ones, have faced criticism for accelerating the spread of misinformation and conspiracies. On Wednesday, Facebook stated they had removed over 6,500 pages and groups related to 'militarized social movements' in just the past month.
Facebook plans to initiate testing this feature in the coming months, and group admins can decide whether to opt in or not. They will be able to convert public groups to private and enable post approval to review posts before other members see them.
Other features recently revealed by Facebook at the Communities Summit primarily aim to assist admins in managing groups. They will have access to the Admin Assist tool, allowing them to set up filters and automatically delete posts containing certain words. This could help them effectively ban certain topics or hashtags from their groups.
- Read more: Facebook introduces new measures to keep groups safe
Admins will have the option to sort posts by hashtag and pin topics to the top. They can use the Brand Collabs Manager tool to monetize public groups by collaborating with brands looking to promote their services and products.
Upcoming features include real-time group chats, prompts for collaborative photo posts, Q&A sessions, and the option to set custom profiles for each group you're a member of. All of these will be rolled out in the near future.
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The Google Maps navigation app is making significant improvements to its Live View feature for users in some test countries:
