FACEBOOK ENVISIONS WATCH FEATURE AS TV FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook envisions its new Watch feature as TV designed for social media, a place where users comment, like and interact with show creators, stars and each other - and never leave.
It’s a potential threat to Twitter, YouTube, Netflix and other services for watching video, including old-fashioned TV. Yet its success is far from guaranteed.
While people watch a lot of videos on Facebook, these are mostly shared by their friends, seen as users scroll down their main news feed.
Getting people to see Facebook as a video service is like Walmart trying to sell high fashion, or McDonald’s peddling high-end food, said Joel Espelien, senior analyst with The Diffusion Group, a video research firm.
Sure, it’s possible, but something is off.
“It’s very difficult to change people’s core perception of what your brand is,” he said.
Facebook has already had a special video section, but it mainly shows a random concoction of “suggested” videos. The new Watch section replaces this. Some U.S.
