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The name's Book. Face Book.
Facebook Messenger Reportedly Plans for Digital Assistant, Moneypenney.
The name’s Book. Face Book.
In an interesting, yet unsurprising announcement in social connectivity news, Facebook announced that its Messenger application is reportedly developing a digital assistant.
According to an article on the announcement on The Information, the service would allow users to connect with "real people, who would research and order products, as well as perform other tasks. The best part? The service is being called Moneypenney, a wink and a nudge to James Bond’s fiercely loyal secretary.
Since the announcement was just made early this week, a gaping hole of questions regarding Moneypenney’s full spectrum of capabilities now lays wide open. In lieu of additional details, the main buzz now being generated is Facebook Messenger’s ability to gain an edge over competitor mobile assistant apps like Siri and Cortana. Though capable of offering similar services like searching, answering voice commands and even paying bills, Siri and Cortana are still far too automated to hold up to a more IRL approach.
Among other things, Moneypenney may be Facebook’s attempt to smooth feathers that were ruffled last year when all Facebook users were forced to download the Messenger app to further the company’s vision of creating a “family of apps.”
Though we all moaned and groaned at the time, the Messenger app has proven itself as an easy, user-friendly way to have more of-the-moment interactions both on and off Facebook.
According to Mashable, Messenger currently reports more than 700 monthly active users — up from 500 million last fall. That number very well could be higher, considering the fact that 1.5 billion people currently use Facebook.
Moneypenney’s development could become yet another avenue for advertisers and brands to promote products on social media, allowing for more for sophisticated targeting capabilities and more promotional bandwidth.
So is this too Big Brother for your taste, or do you prefer to think of it as a personal assistant in your pocket? Tell us in the comment section below.
