(Mirror Daily, United States) – Given how many things Facebook knows about us – where we live, what we like, who we hang out with – the social network should be able to tell us what to do tonight. And it soon will, thanks to a terrific update on Events.
For a rarely used feature at first, Facebook Events quickly became the most powerful tool in party invitations, and it is now taking an omniscient view of the landscape. Starting today, the iOS app offers an upgraded browsing experience.
Facebook will no longer suggest random event dates, but will allow the user to specify if they’re looking for a party to attend today, on Sunday, this weekend, or maybe next week. At the same time, the “Suggested For You” section heavily relies on the data Facebook has collected about you.
Things get even easier after that, as Facebook categorized suggestions Sports & Fitness, Nightlife, Film & Photography, Music, Food & Drinks, Community, Fine Arts & Crafts, Performing Arts, and Causes.
If you sort of know what you want to do – whether it’s a pub crawl, concert, wine & cheese, or a gallery opening – Facebook can be the waiter to your mood. Sorting by date is also possible, so finding the right place for the right time is easy-peasy.
Are you an extrovert on the move? You can adjust your location so to check what’s happening in the city you’re currently in Peeking at events located in distant lands is also something Facebook deals with now.
With the social network so involved in event organizing, every other company that ever had a change to promote event discovery has fallen behind badly. Even though Foursquare knows where people like to gather, events were never its priority, for example.
Most services are interested in making you go to their events, which means they have a high tendency of steering you to one event over another. Facebook seems to be the only neutral company that has near total knowledge of what’s going on in the area and limited financial interest.
At the same time, its giant database of personal information combined with knowing who we care about makes it the best at matching people to parties. So why did Facebook care about upgrading Events?
In theory, the social network wants to push people out of their houses and spending more time with their friends in real life. However, Facebook knows how to keep us coming back because Events has become one of the reasons why people can’t quit Facebook.
Image Source: Mashable