Facebook has introduced a new Featured Events section on the
iOS version, with 10 cities in the United States as the first ones to gain
access to the feature (Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.)
From over 1.4 billion users, about 560 million people use
Facebook Events monthly, with 60% of the connections to the events
happening by chance as users browse through their News Feed.
What would set the new Featured Events section apart is the
fact that the list will be curated by actual
humans and not the algorithms that have penetrated almost all facets of
Facebook.
Previously, there were only suggested events, which were
recommended to users depending on their interests and those of their friends,
along with events for which users have received RSVPs. The suggested events,
however, were hard to plan for.
Better Event Management
With the new Featured Events section, users will be notified
of upcoming events with a lot of time to prepare before going there, which
includes planning itineraries and inviting friends to the event. Users who are
highly engaged in using Facebook Events will also be receiving push
notifications when certain events are added to the new section.
Weekly Digest of Cool Stuff
Facebook for iOS users in the cities where the feature will
be first rolled out will see a carousel on top of their list of upcoming
events. The curators will feature events covering art, community,
entertainment, family, festival, fitness, food and drink, learning, music and
sports.
"You can think about it like a weekend or weekly digest
of cool stuff that you can do in your city," said Aditya Koolwal, product
manager for Facebook Events.
