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Facebook Messenger Platform

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Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#2
The 1-800-FLOWERS example in the F8 livestream was pretty neat. In the example a user ordered flowers through only a chat.

Somehow they were able to do this without entering their credit card details. I wonder if the payment was a Facebook Messenger feature, or if the user had just already entered their details on the 1-800-FLOWERS site.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#4
post #2

The 1-800-FLOWERS example in the F8 livestream was pretty neat. In the example a user ordered flowers through only a chat. Somehow they were able to do this without entering their credit card details. I wonder if the payment was a Facebook Messenger feature, or if the user had just already entered their details on the 1-800-FLOWERS site.

You've been able to setup a US debit card with your Messenger account and then use that to send friends money, so you can use that payment info with the Messenger platform integrations too. I'm guessing that FB processes the payment versus sending the partner your payment info.

Here's more info on payments in Messenger, but note that this doesn't include info on the platform stuff and how payments interact with it since it's brand new:

https://www.facebook.com/help/messenger-app/750020781733477/

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#6
Facebook disregards your rights as a creator, user, and individual.

I've read enough history to know what sharecropping looks like. Tell me how this is different than sharecropping. Why should I build something I don't control on Lord Zuckerberg's platform so I can play the startup lottery? We did this almost a decade ago. Facebook introduced their developer platform and people started giving up their freedoms. This isn't a conspiracy theory, this is something you can observe by yourself.

Facebook has already broadcasted loud and wide how they are going to screw you over. It's your choice.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#7

Facebook disregards your rights as a creator, user, and individual. I've read enough history to know what sharecropping looks like. Tell me how this is different than sharecropping. Why should I build something I don't control on Lord Zuckerberg's platform so I can play the startup lottery? We did this almost a decade ago. Facebook introduced their developer platform and people started giving up their freedoms. This…

You could argue the same for the App Store, Play store, etc. This is the reality: you can reach these vast numbers of users on these platforms through these stores. Facebook isn't forcing anyone to do this, but they are providing an opportunity. If you don't want to be part of this then thats your choice.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#8

Facebook disregards your rights as a creator, user, and individual. I've read enough history to know what sharecropping looks like. Tell me how this is different than sharecropping. Why should I build something I don't control on Lord Zuckerberg's platform so I can play the startup lottery? We did this almost a decade ago. Facebook introduced their developer platform and people started giving up their freedoms. This…

The real question is can you get in, win, and get out before any of that matters.

If you 'rode the facebook apps' wave you probably made decent money unless you stayed in too long.

Another strategy is to build an integration to messenger to get exposure for your totally independant app.

For example If i made some pizza ordering ai, i could hook it up to messenger as an additional channel.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#9
This seems kinda disappointing in capability compared with what you see in WeChat. I was expecting you'd be able to build apps that run from inside messenger, instead of toggle back and forth between native apps, possibly using something like ExponentJS/Reactive-Native, but maybe Apple would disapprove.

The WeChat SDK allows apps to run JS from inside WeChat itself. You see this in action in China where you can actually do complex stuff like book a taxi via Didi Dache without necessarily having to switch back and forth between heavyweight apps.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#10
Facebook seems to slowly be building out the feature set that WeChat (https://a16z.com/2015/08/06/wechat-china-mobile-first/ ) has had for ages.

It seems like Facebook first set out to capture the whole market, and are now slowly monetizing it fully. WeChat has achieved incredible ARPU (>$7/user/year) through a combination of chat APIs, 3rd party bots and integrated payments Facebook. If Facebook can achieve a similar number, it would greatly increase their worldwide ARPU. (http://www.statista.com/statistics/251328/facebooks-average-...).

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