Facebook launches Facebook Rooms - The 90’s Return as Facebook faces competition from Anonymous Mobile Social Networks

Facebook’s latest product has gone a bit retro in a sort of throwback to the 90’s, when anonymous Chatrooms used to exist on MIRC and Usenet!

In fact, Facebook’s News is on the same level as the News that the bellbottom jeans pants from the 70’s are making a comeback as reported in “Oh no! Look what’s flaring up again: The bell-bottom is back – and here’s our hippy chicks’ verdict”, published 25 October 2014 23:03 GMT By AMY OLIVER, UK Daily Mail.

Their latest product, an App Called Facebook Rooms that was launched on October 23^rd, 2014 on Apple iOS for now, reintroduces the concept of anonymous Chatrooms for the 90’s where it was invitation only and you could talk without anyone knowing your identity as explained in the article “Facebook tries a different way to chat with Rooms App”, published October 23, 2014 10:00 AM PDT by Ian Sherr,  CNET News.

Facebook Rooms – 90’s return as Facebook faces competition from Anonymous Mobile Social Networks

For those of you like myself familiar with using Chatrooms online as well as the good old days of being on Usenet and MIRC late at night on super-slow but speedy a 56k modem (at least back then!), a modern retake on the idea of anonymous, invitation only private groups online is a bit nostalgic, like the return of the 70's Bellbottom or bell foot pants as we Jamaican called them.

Despite Facebook possessing such franchises as WhatsApp and Slingshot, which is now a mere clone of Snapchat even as Microsoft XIM as made an appearance on the scene as noted in my blog article entitled “Microsoft launches Microsoft Xim, Snapchat's true Competition - How Slingshot backfired and Microsoft Xim makes Conscious Shared Slideshow Experience Fun”, they apparently felt the need to tap into the past for some reason.

Apparently, it may ultimately boil down to competition, many of which are taking advantage of Facebook’s poor track record on Privacy as noted in CNET Editor Bridget Carey in her CNET Update Report.

The prevalence of such Mobile Social Networks as Whisper, Secret, YikYak and more recently the peer-to-peer Firechat as describe in my blog article entitled “Open Garden's FireChat is a Viral Hit - Mesh Networking is Back as Apple’s Multi-peer Connectivity Network reintroduces Napster-esque P2P Mesh Networks for Millennials” means that they now  have to enter that space that their Name-based Social Networks originally made obsolete.

Already there is a storm brewing on the waters even as Facebook finally seems to be finally getting it right!

Facebook Rooms and QR Codes – Finally a company makes use of this cool Japanese innovation

The Facebook Rooms App was designed by Branch, a startup Facebook bought in January 2014 for some US$15 million as reported in “Facebook acquires link-sharing service Branch for around $15 million”, published January 13, 2014 09:27 am By Ellis Hamburger, The Verge.

The 90's are back, as I mentioned before but with a twist. The invitation-only feature is via sending a QR Code, those little black and white dotted square equivalents of Bar Codes I'd discussed earlier in my blog article entitled “Daqri combines QR Codes with Augmented Reality - Ads and PR Minority Report Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”.

Already QR Codes were being used in South Korea in Supermarkets to allow consumers to merely use their smartphone to scan and buy items via QR Codes placed on their subway system as well as in the supermarket and have them delivered to their home as described in my blog article entitled “QR Codes and Shopping in South Korea - My Science Project for A Virtual Supermarket”.

Best of all, Facebook Rooms isn’t searchable via Google and you don't need a Facebook account to join. Even better, none of your posts within rooms are placed on Facebook, albeit Facebook does moderate these Rooms to make sure the conversation remains civil, non-discriminatory and free of hate-speech.

A little bit of creativity need to be employed in deploying your QR Codes to get people to join in on your Rooms, but I can see how this may be a great way to drop off very secret messages, especially as it’s not searchable on Google and you can log in using a pseudonym and an avatar!

So Facebook’s use of QR Codes readable by the Facebook Rooms App to enable the invitation-only element is not only clever but a cool use of QR Codes, which are gradually finding usefulness here in Jamaica.

Facebook Rooms - Anonymous, invitation only nostalgia Facebook cribbed from a Startup  

As with the anonymous Chatrooms from the 90's, you can choose to be a moderator, give your room any name you want and makes your room an anything-goes kinda liaise-faire environment or a room for serious discussion where the posts have to be vetted by you before they get spread in your Room.

Truly, the Facebook Rooms App has brought the 90's anonymous Chatrooms back.....I gotta stop saying that, but it's really true as declared in the article “The Future of Anonymity on the Internet Is Facebook Rooms”, published 10.27.14 1:56 PM BY DAVEY ALBA, Wired.

Too bad they may be facing a potential lawsuit for ripping off the idea for Facebook Rooms from Damien Rottemberg and Frank-David Cohen, who launched their Room App first in September 2013 as stated in “Startup to Facebook: Rooms App Was Our Idea”, published OCTOBER 28, 2014 01:14PM EST BY STEPHANIE MLOT, PC Magazine and “Facebook Rooms App is cool but it's already in trouble”, published October 27, 9:05 AM By Nicole Arce, Tech Times.

It'll be interesting to see how that courtroom drama plays out.....most likely behind closed doors in an anonymous, invitation-only Court-Room in California!

Here’ the link:

Facebook Rooms on the Apple iTunes Store