Facebook, Inc. might have 2 billion users, but the Menlo Park, California-based company has not had a lot of whole lot of success when it comes to launching entirely new products. In fact, Facebook (NASDAQ:$FB) has a history of copying other companies’ products in an attempt to keep their users engaged for as long as humanly possible. Over the weekend, Facebook announced that it has relaunched its Events app under the name of Facebook Local.
Many speculate this is the tech giant’s latest attempts at copying its new competitor Yelp (NYSE:$YELP).
If you didn’t know Facebook had an Events app, don’t worry – it was particularly successful. The new app will continue to track events, but it’s main focus now is on surfacing places to visit. How will it work? Essentially, Facebook Local will suggest events and places to visit, based on recommendations from your Facebook friends. It’s extremely similar to Yelp in terms of scope, but instead of listening to Yelp reviews, you can trust the recommendations of your friends.
Further, the Facebook Local app will alert users with notifications for events they had agreed to attend on Facebook.
The consensus right now surrounding the app is that people do not know why a user would want to download an entirely separate app just to find information that was accessible on the Facebook site.
Featured Image: twitter
