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April 11th, 2013 
Peter Nolan Who would you think would win the mobile space for the next there years? Apple, Google, Microsoft? Each company’s mobile platform is meant to be the tool for collecting users’ data and habits and feed the numerous services the companies are building.
It’s funny that Facebook waltzed up last week, announced Facebook Home, and have primed themselves to be the leader of the mobile space (most eyeballs for the longest time). When the first Facebook phone rumors came out a couple years ago, no one thought they could be a serious player. Everyone assumed that if Facebook built a phone it wouldn’t be any good because it’s far from their core competency, and their initial foray with the HTC Status seemed dead on arrival.
With Facebook Home, they have essentially co-opted Google’s Android platform by building a launcher (a wrapper) on top of Android that controls all the user interactions. Why waste time building a mobile operating system when you can just skin Android?
Why do I think that Facebook has “won” the mobile space? Because of everything it already knows about you and your friends. Add in all the data a phone provides and between Facebook, its apps ecosystem, and its ad partners, they will be able to serve up content (ads) at the right place and right time to you.
Here’s just a few things that make it powerful:
- Everything they will get from you using Facebook Search on your device
- Every SMS and message is going through Facebook. Maybe they can sense when you’re fighting with your spouse… perfect time to inject some florist ads into the cover feed
- Facebook already knows who I’m connected to via their site. Now they’ll know how many times I call, text, or otherwise interact with that person (and also with people who aren’t on Facebook)
- Similarly they’ll know who I’m talking to for the first time, who I talk to most often, and etc.
- Know which businesses’ pages I’ve “Liked” and when I’m near one of the physical shops
- As they make it easier to utilize Facebook events for your main calendar/appointment book, that unlocks even more data for them to utilize
With the phone’s cover page being an ever-changing newsfeed of your friends’ activities; it’s a great hook to draw you in, let you easily interact, and ultimately serve you up ads. I recall Windows Phone 7 talking about how it was putting people first, and it did a great job of it, but Facebook has taken it to the next level.
Do you think Facebook has pulled off a coup?
Source Article from http://www.zdnet.com/did-facebook-just-win-the-mobile-war-7000013830/
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