Why it matters to you
Conversation seems to be one of the primary purposes of Facebook and the social network is testing out a new format for people to engage in those conversations thanks to a Comments redesign.
Your interactions on Facebook might be getting a major makeover. In efforts to make all your mediums of communication seem increasingly indistinguishable from one another, the social media giant appears to be testing a new design that makes comment threads look a whole lot like messaging app threads, complete with message bubbles and all.
On Monday, a spokesperson confirmed the test to BuzzFeed, noting, “We are always working to make Facebook a more visual and engaging place to have conversations. So we’re testing multiple design updates in News Feed, including a more conversational way to comment on posts.” This is by no means the only test the company is currently conducting — it is also testing a feature that lets you see when people are in the process of typing a comment on a post (again, much like you might see in iMessage or other messaging apps), as well as having some posts pop up in new windows.
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This design tweak, if fully implemented, would likely have a huge effect on all of Facebook’s nearly 2 billion users, given that comments are practically ubiquitous on the platform. After all, how many times have you engaged in a fight, or spirited discussion, via comments? Don’t worry, we’re not judging.
Of course, Facebook is always undergoing redesigns and trying out new things, so this new trial is by no means set in stone quite yet. Really, however, it just seems as though Facebook is trying to make more of its interface look like its popular Messenger app, making it harder and harder to differentiate between having a conversation in private and in public.
So if you’re seeing a new layout in your own comments, don’t be alarmed. It’s just Facebook trying out a little something new.