Zuckerberg starts by focusing on his broader goals of connecting the world and giving everyone a voice. “That’s the roadmap for the next ten years. We are building the technology to give anyone the power to share anything they want with anyone else,” Zuckerberg said at the opening of the F8 conference.
“That’s the roadmap for the next ten years. We are building the technology to give anyone the power to share anything they want with anyone else,” Zuckerberg said at the opening of the F8 conference.
The Zuck even got a little heartfelt sharing his first steps as a baby, in which his parents jotted down the date in a baby book. When his sister had kids, they shot video on their smartphones and shared it. Zuckerberg plans to capture a 360-degree video of his daughter, Max, throughout the process of her learning her first steps.
Even more exciting is the Messenger platform – the fastest growing app in the U.S. Zuckerberg discussed interacting with businesses on Messenger, noting how it’s not fun to call a business. “It shouldn’t take your full attention like a phone call would,” he says. Zuckerberg unveils Messenger Platform. CNN, for example, can send Daily Digests of stories to Messenger. Users can send a message to tweak the news they receive.
“Messenger is going to be the next big platform for sharing privately,” said Zuckerberg. Another use of Messenger: sending flowers via 1-800-Flowers.com. Chatbots are here.
Zuckerberg also said that they’re opening up the Live API, including drone maker DJI, which can stream Facebook Live video from a drone – welcome to the future, people.
Next, he unveiled Aquila, a solar-powered plane allowing Facebook to beam Internet access from the sky. It flies at about 60,000 feet in the air, staying up in the air for a few months at a time.
Zuckerberg moved on to sharing in an intuitive way using artificial intelligence. He cited several examples of the use of AI, including News Feed and to filter spam from messages. The most recent initiative aids blind users by adding captions to images to describe what’s happening in a picture. Further, examples of the many uses of AI include discovering planets, curing diseases and powering self-driving cars. He says improvements in AI have the potential “to save lives.”
Next, he showed off Oculus Rift (which everyone in the audience receives, jealous). “In the future, you’ll be able to snap your fingers and show a picture as big as you want it” and view them with AR glasses, he says. “It’s going to take a long time to make this work.” Zuckerberg said that Oculus will roll out Touch controllers for VR later this year.
As the chart shows, the focus for products and making money during the next three years involves Facebook’s ecosystems, while video, search, groups and the family of apps such as WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram come into play in the next five years. The ten-year game involves more ambitious technology efforts, such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality, and new connectivity offerings, such as drone-delivered internet service.
Super exciting stuff, guys!