As of late, public events have been marketing on Facebook with public invites that allow people to RSVP or show interest. Last year alone, there were over 123 million public and private events created on the social media platform. For hosts, it is a great way to get the word out and for Facebook users, it is an easy way to keep track of what is going on in your area. Now, Facebook is taking matters into its own hands by rolling out “Featured Events” listings. Unlike its “suggested” events, the new feature will be curated by a real person and not reliant on an algorithm.
“What we do is have a team of people who are basically looking at events on Facebook that have broad appeal, that a lot of people could go to, and they’re highlighting ones they think will be good to list out,” said Aditya Koolwal, Facebook Events product manager, tells TechCrunch.
Thus far, learning of these events relied on “suggested events,” determined by an algorithm determines based on the activity of your friends and your interests.
The feature is available in ten cities: New York, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Events will be split into categories like “Music” and “Food” and also by time, so users can look at what events are taking place in the near future. Koolwal explains that Featured Events is “like a weekend or weekly digest of cool stuff that you can do in your city.” The idea behind the feature, he says, is to give users enough time to plan for an event and gather their friends.
The curation team will not include events that focus on politics or worship, says Koolwal. “After trending we’ve learned a lot,” he said to TechCrunch. The curators will also keep venue capacity in mind, so events without the resources to handle a large number of guests will not suddenly find themselves with an influx of people.
In light of news Facebook has paid media companies to create video content on Facebook live, a valid concern is whether Facebook will give advertisers special treatment with this feature. The social media giant claims it will not.
While Featured Events will be available on the Facebook app, it will not become a standalone app in the near future. “The cost to installing an app is high,” said Koolwal. “If we can build a lot of discovery features into Facebook and get people to use them, that’s a huge win.”
In light of news that Facebook has been paying media companies to create video content on Facebook live, a valid concern is if Facebook will be giving advertisers special treatment with this feature. According to the social media giant, it will not.
While Featured Events will be available on the Facebook app, it will not become a standalone app in the near future. “The cost to installing an app is high,” said Koolwal. “If we can build a lot of discovery features into Facebook and get people to use them, that’s a huge win.”
