This article first appeared on the Three Ships Media blog.
In an attempt to declutter their ecosystem and vocabulary as well as disrupt email as the preferred method of sharing links, Facebook has rolled out a new feature they are calling “Send”. Send will allow users to send news articles or other types of information directly to a Facebook Group or to a specific friend’s inbox. The button has the same look and feel as the Like button, and Facebook is hoping that it will become a similarly ubiquitous way to share information.
If this all sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Facebook formerly had the option to “share” a website, and it maintains the option to “recommend” a website on one’s own wall. From a cynic’s perspective, there is reason to be pessimistic about this new feature. Will its usage merely mirror preexisting clicks on things such as “share” and “email to a friend”, or will it actually promote sharing and conversation that otherwise would not have happened? There is significant room for doubt.
However, cynics doubted the Like button, and that feature has turned out to be one of Facebook’s biggest triumphs, providing an easy-to-understand lingua franca for designating relevant content in an ever-expanding Internet. Additionally, it has been an enormous boon to Facebook, providing them with an unparalleled database of consumer information–all provided voluntarily.
Should Send take off, it will provide a similar treasure trove of demographics. Want to target a user base who are between the ages of eighteen and twenty five and “Liked” a specific movie page on Facebook and “Sent” the New York Times review of that movie to their friends? In Facebook’s world, it’s completely possible.
By integrating a Send feature that looks and feels like the popular Like button, Facebook is positioning itself to steal some of email’s thunder–and collect a vast amount of information while doing so.
What do you think? Is Facebook Send a groundbreaking idea, or is it merely a fresh coat of paint on an old tool?
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