Facebook has announced FB Newswire for journalists because it wants to be Twitter so bad, it just can’t help shamelessly flaunting its latest bait which it hopes will make it the center of breaking news. The way things have been going is pretty confusing, with Twitter changing its layout so that it looks more like Facebook and now the latter has pulled this move in a direct attack against its rival.
If that wasn’t enough, Facebook also has a Twitter handle called @FBNewswire, apart from its Facebook.com/FBNewswire page. The venture is backed by Storyful, a content discovery and verification tool. It will present fans of the page with first-person photographs, videos, and status updates about world events posted publicly on the social network. Storyful’s editorial team will be behind the process of selection and verification of headlines which are worthy of this hub.
You’re probably wondering how FB Newswire would be particularly useful for journalists or publishers who want to find, embed or share information on current events around the globe. So are we; meaning it would be more practical to present the service as a sort of Google News alternative for the general population. Just think about it – why would you go to online publications which get breaking news from FB Newswire when you can simply go through the top stories through this Facebook page?
To our minds, FB Newswire sounds like a product that should have been targeted at end-users if it wanted to beat Twitter and not at middlemen who search for stories through this hub. Did we forget something important before stating these views?