The Facebook Events Android app was rebranded to Facebook Local earlier this year, in addition to receiving several new features and some minor tweaks. The move came just under a year since Facebook Events originally hit the Google Play Store, being spun off from the main Facebook app as a standalone tool meant for facilitating the process of discovering happenings in one’s vicinity, in addition to sharing such discoveries with friends and family.
The newly introduced update also adds support for various hospitality establishments like restaurants and bars, hence becoming even more versatile as a service for discovering places worth visiting. The search interface of the app was slightly redesigned as part of its latest iteration but is mechanically identical to the previous build of the app, with the exception of now also being able to discover more businesses. Entrepreneurs don’t need to take any particular steps to be listed in Facebook Local, with the app being reliant on the social media giant’s existing knowledge base; e.g. if your restaurant has a Facebook page, chances are it’s already discoverable in the app. The core design of the service hasn’t changed and is still location-based, being intended to both help you discover new things to do and places to visit in your neighborhood while also assisting you in making the most of your weekend trip to a new city.
With the previous version of the service still being designed to work in conjunction with the main Facebook app, the latter’s Events section was rebranded to a “Local” one, but it appears to be functionally indistinguishable from the old platform. It’s currently unclear how Facebook intends to go about developing the two simultaneously, though the company presumably isn’t considering re-merging them. Facebook Local presently features zero advertising and likely doesn’t take a cut of any leads it may generate for businesses, with the Menlo Park, California-based company reportedly not being interested in pursuing any monetization efforts in the immediate future. This product development approach is reminiscent of the one usually adopted Google, being intended to prioritize startup-like user acquisition before even trying to break even.