Facebook's Chief Product Officer talks the future of media

Social Media Week Lagos 2017 has kicked off today and the week-long platform promises to be packed with loads of interesting stuff.

Starting off with a Facebook session tagged "The future of media", which held at the Innovation Stage at Landmark Event Centre, where Social Media Week Lagos is holding.

The session was anchored by Chris Cox, Facebook's Chief Product Officer, who spoke about the social networks humble beginnings and how it has grown to become one of the biggest platforms in the world.

Cox explained that Facebook has evolved based on what it perceives to be the future of media brought on by the need to find a way to merge a certain communication format with the appropriate social context.

According to Cox, Facebook believes the future of media will be driven by three things: immersive media (AR/VR, 360 videos, Live), authenticity (real stories, live events) and building communities.

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On immersive media, Cox explained how Facebook is using formats like VR and 360 videos in products like Canvas, Edition, Instant Articles and Messenger to build a better experience for its users.

But for the many immersive media formats to work, a high level of authenticity is required, says Cox. That is why Facebook is finding ways to make it easier for users to generate content that resonates across strata.

'Communities drive engagement and we are constantly trying to build new ways for our users to engage and drive conversations within their communities,' said Cox.

He also announced that Facebook currently has a feature it currently beta testing. The feature is called Group For Pages and it allows page owners to create groups within their pages for people that engage on their page.

In conclusion, Cox said video is going to be a big part of media going forward and Facebook is implementing various forms of video across all its products to capitalize on this.