Facebook held its annual developer conference called F8 in San Francisco, a 2 day event where Facebook unveils some of its latest innovative products/services along with how developers will be able to take advantage of these new services.
The main focus of the F8 on day one was the announcement of the Facebook Messenger Platform, which allows developers to integrate other mobile applications directly into the Messenger App, essentially apps within apps.
Users of the new messenger will now be able to send GIF’s, Audio Tracks, videos and more simply by downloading a bolt onto to the Messenger app through the designated Messenger store.  For example if you want to send a moving GIF with Giphy  all you need to do is simply download the application find the image you want and click the send button.  This new functionality will allow you to express yourself in new ways, and have fun with photos and videos with your friends.
The Facebook Messenger Platform already has 40 applications already on board with many more to add in the future.  Below we show an image of some of the apps you can add to the Messenger Platform however to appreciate the full scale of this update please go to the official Facebook Messenger Platform Show case.
Facebook didn’t just focus on addons to its messenger application it also unveiled its new Messenger for Business service. Â This new function brought the traditional way of shopping to online shoppers whereby users can seamlessly communicate with businesses through the Messenger App. Â Once you have completed your shopping on an online store you will be able to choose whether you get a notification sent to your messenger application about your order, users can also expect to be able to amend, cancel and have conversations with the business about their order.
This new feature will be available from businesses that support this functionality, and there is still the option to have order notifications sent to your e-mail or another platform if you wish.
Facebook will launch the Messenger for Business Service to a select few of different partners with no word on when this will be available to everyone. Â However, if you haven’t downloaded the Messenger App, now might be a good time.
