On first sight, the latest Facebook Messenger app for iOS and Android doesn’t resemble any Facebook product. If someone asked me what app this was, I would have blindly said a newer version of Skype if it were not for the Like button.
The new Facebook messenger takes on a fun and bright blue more akin to Skype. For once, it is much more than just the “LIKE” button. Obviously, the Like thumbs up icon still remains in the chat window.
Besides the Like button and text bar, users can now send photos and cool stickers to their friends making the Facebook messenger app a lot more fun to use.
Messaging on Facebook messenger is also a lot more swifter in delivering messages. The blue Messenger badge near a friends picture denotes that they are online and available to chat. And just like competitors such as Whatsapp, you can still text your friends (even those who aren’t your facebook friends) when they are offline as long as your number is verified on the app and you have your friends contact number stored on your phone.
The new menu has a contacts section to look up contacts, a recents section for all recent messages and a settings section to change settings like location sharing etc.
The social network’s change of blue color itself is a significant change in how people will perceive the brand. It is almost a relief to not see the Facebook blue again. It is also quite clear there is a head on rivalry against leading messaging competitors like Whatsapp. The messaging platform has always and will always remain a tough market to compete in.
And while the buzz of liking and commenting on Facebook lasted a while, people are definitely looking to get back in touch with their friends and have a real conversation which seems a lot more realistic and possible with a simple messaging platform.