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Facebook is planning to launch a #Trending Widget on the Home Page that tracks News from official News Feeds as I’d reported in Facebook adds Trending Topics with Paper coming to make reading the News easier. Some recent numbers from Harvard University-based Pew Research Group in a recently concluded Study shed some light on this odd direction being taken by FB.

The Types of News we’re referring to here on Facebook ranked in order of popularity are:

  • Entertainment

  • Local events,

  • Sports

  • National News coverage

  • Crime

  • International News

  • Science or technology stories

  • Business related coverage

The Pew Research Stats break down as follows:

  • 75% see News while looking for something else on Facebook

  • 50% reported or shared one or more News stories on Facebook

  • 46% comment on the News they read

  • 33% follow a specific News organization or journalist (that’s me!!)

  • 22% believe FB’s a great place to catch official News

  • 20% have posted photos or video of a News Event

Pew Research Stats Explained – FB users consume News on Social Media just like in the Real World

Most of these stats are understandable for a Facebook/Twitter/Google+ Addict like myself, a cornucopia of Social Media that I manage using Hootsuite, a topic for another blog at a later time. I actually Track Tech News via these Social Media as well, as if it’s popular, it’ll be trending or much talked about in the Tech Groups I join.

For me finding News on Facebook/Twitter/Google+ is NOT an accident; I deliberately go out of my way to get the Tech News I wanna read! Despite my dislike for Social Media in a country with very low Broadband Internet Penetration as expressed in Jamaica’s Low Net Penetration – Broadband Internet A Universal Right, it does serve the purpose of alerting me of important, accurate News, assuming that’s what other Jamaicans use Social Media to do.

But I do notice it’s not nearly as popular as Entertainment News, which I’ve seen spread word-of-mouth many times by friend in my Social Networks WITHOUT even so much as a News link. Being a blogger, accuracy of News and sources are of paramount importance to me. Which is why I always post with links to my sources, sometimes using URL Shortening Services and I’ve joined many official and non-official Facebook/Twitter/Google+ News pages which I track with Hootsuite.

As for Liking and Sharing (Facebook), Favouriting and Retweeting (Twitter) or giving a Plus and Sharing (Google+), I’m all up in that Cool-Aid. Sometimes it just taking too long to shorten and repost an interesting News article using a URL Shortening Service, so I end up hitting the share button almost immediately. Even though I’ve joined and have a free account with Bit.ly and Adf.ly; Hootsuite does that for me very well.

In Fact, I’m even considering possibly paying for Hootsuite’s Cloud Based Service, as it more convenient than opening all three Social Media to manage my online Advertisements and Social Media Marketing, the main advantage of Social Media as posited in my article Social Media Marketing – Advertising and Marketing in Ja on a Shoe-String.

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Most of my News and News alerts I get not only from RSS Feeds in Mozilla Firefox but also from Twitter and Facebook, with Google Alerts allowing me to track News as-it-happens as noted in Google Alerts Diamond in the Rough coming to Google+ to deliver Technology News.

Google+, albeit a part of the Social Media News outlets that I track via Hootsuite, is more of a place to build a following for my blog. People aren’t as active on Google+ as one would imagine based on their impressive stats in my article Winter is Coming as Google+ is on a collision course to beat Facebook by 2016

The Pew Research Numbers get interesting when you break it down in terms of Gender, with Females surprisingly being more into getting their News via Social Media than Men. Men it seems are more serious and visual animals, preferring to get their News from LinkedIn and YouTube.

It’s also an age thing too, as LinkedIn has an older Demographic that’s more college Educated; accuracy, not sensationalism rules the rational Left-brained World of Male Thinking compared to the more emotional, less rational, Right-brained World of Females! The Pew Research Survey is true for me….sorta; I’m mostly dependent on receiving my News updates directly from the Newspaper’s Website or Newsletters from the Newspapers in my email to which I subscribe than waiting on them to post it on Social Media.

Not a fan of LinkedIn, but I do download a lot of my Research video for Articles I write from YouTube using the very handy and very free Website Savefrom  as explained in How to download Videos from any website without installing software using Savefrom

Facebook Odd News Push – Corporate Subscriptions in the Works to Deliver VR News

I say odd as in face of losing Millennials (ages 18 to 28) to Mobile Social Networks such as Twitter, Snapchat, Whisper, Ask.com and even BBM as noted in WhatsApp popularity fading as BBM’s the most downloaded IM App on iOS, Facebook’s chosen to buy WhatsApp.

The reason for that purchase is clear: Facebook is following the Global Trend among the Mobile Social Networks, including Skype, to introduce VoIP Calling over 3G/4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) Networks as stated in Skype-ing from your Browser now possible as WhatsApp conspires to kill International Calling.

They’ll make money from Premium VoIP Video Calling, most likely for Business Customers as Skype currently does even as Skype spreads their wings unto Android. So with the Coming Facebook Paper, presumably they’ll have a free section with a Pay-walled Section for Hardcore Newspaper lovers with premier exclusive content, as it clearly can’t be an ad-based model!

More recently and more of interest to the point I’m driving towards, Facebook has purchased Oculus Rift, a VR (Virtual Reality) company for some US$2 billion. This is in furtherance of Facebook’s drive to embrace future Technologies for the delivery of communications, media, entertainment and education, much to the chagrin of the typically living-in-him-mom’s-basement-anti-social Gamer.

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Facebook is also aware of the coming of Wearable Computing and the potential it has to replace the current fascination with smartphones. Thus by buying this company, Facebook is gearing up for a coming future in 2015 as predicted in my article Augmented Reality Contact Lens development will shrink smartphones to Feature Phone size, when Americans will switch from smartphones to Smartglasses tethered to Smartwatches.

Interestingly, Facebook’s purchase of the 18 month old company Oculus Rift may have saved them from being ravaged by Sony’s Project Morpheus  as by widening their scope from just pure Gaming to the delivery of other content, Oculus Rift will survive even after Americans get tired of VR Gaming.

So the plan is clear, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Facebook’s ultimate plan for the Oculus Rift VR Goggles is to refashion them into wearable Prescription Glasses by partnering with a maker of fashionable Frames, in much the same way their main competitor in Social Media Google is doing with Google Glass by partnering with Luxottica to launch in 2015. Ditto too Samsung, who are slated to announce a Samsung Galaxy Glass at the IFA 2014 Technology Trade Show in Germany on Friday September 10th 2014].

Makes no sense to have an Oculus Rift VR Headset that just has one use; multi-purpose expensive US$199 VR/AR Glasses, possibly with a monthly Data Subscription from a Telecom Provider that can deliver other important content sounds more like a sure long-term bet for Facebook.

Even better, Contact Lens that can achieve the above, as pointed out in my article Augmented Reality Contact Lens development will shrink smartphones to Feature Phone size. Facebook will also develop a small companion device to synch with the refashioned Oculus Rift VR Goggles cum Glasses, possibly a Facebook smartwatch.

And the main content to be delivered on these Wearable Devices soon to come from Facebook? Believe it or not, based on what I see in my Channeling in the 5th Dimension on this subject, it’s not Video Games.

It’s the News!

In essence, Facebook is planning to revolutionize the delivery of Newspaper via making the newspaper and News delivery no more difficult than wearing a pair of AR/VR Glasses that synch with a Wristwatch that act as a Tether to the Data Network.

Welcome to the Wearable Computing Revolution brought to you by Facebook Oculus Rift Glasses and Smartwatch. Please put you Glasses in the “On” position, as after all, Pew Research Stats don’t lie, Shakira Style!

 

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