Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) held its F8 conference on April 30 in San Francisco. And Mark Zuckerberg announced that it will now become an annual affair. The next F8 developer conference will take place on March 25, 2015 at San Francisco’s Fort Mason. This year’s event had plenty of things for developers, and a few for regular users. The social networking giant has stabilized its platform, it is now focused on building tools for developers to make money with their apps.
Here are the announcements Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) made at the F8 conference:
Facebook unveils ‘Anonymous Login’
The social networking giant tried to address privacy concerns. Anonymous Login lets you sign up for websites without entering your email address or name. Mark Zuckerberg said the feature will ensure that people are in control of how they share their information. It is similar to the site’s current login button, except that the social networking company won’t share your identifying information with apps or websites using the feature.
Facebook Audience Network
This was widely expected. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) unveiled its mobile advertising network called Facebook Audience Network (FAN). It will be available in three formats: native, banner and interstitial. FAN directly challenges Twitter Inc’s MoPub. It allows marketers to advertise on third-party apps utilizing the social networking giant’s user data.
FbStart developer tools
Developers will get access to free tools and services by applying to the FbStart program. It will help developers get their apps up and running fast. App developers will get access to Parse, credits for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) advertising, and free services that offer recruiting, product testing, customer care, document management and video conferencing.
Mobile Like for third-party apps
You will now be able to Like third-party items on your mobile apps. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) introduced a Like button on mobile that gives developers access to the users’ Timelines with the tap of a button. Third-party app owners can add a Like button on their apps.
AppLinks
This new tool allows developers to create links between apps by inserting a few lines of code. Links inside an app will direct users to other apps. There will also be a link back to the originating app to facilitate easy return.
New media APIs
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) unveiled four new APIs for media outlets – Topic Insights, Topic Feed, Trending and Hashtag Counter. The new tools will help publishers make stories richer and more compelling.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares gained 2.15% to $61.06 at 10:15 AM EDT on Thursday.
