Not even a month into the new year and Facebook already has lots of new features in the works and preparing for release. Certainly there will be surprises to come from the social media giant in terms of mobile and non-mobile offerings. Here are some new features Facebook has already introduced to the public this year:
Graph Search - Graph Search is probably Facebook's most important featured released so far this year. Information put up by your friends on Facebook has never been easy to search because unless the content is posted in the time you are browsing your newsfeed, you could miss it. Graph Search will allow for users to connect with friends who have common interests in an unprecedented way.
Let's say you are a fan of the TV show The Bachelor on Facebook and you want someone to watch it with. Using Graph Search you could type in "friends near NYC like The Bachelor." Facebook would return a list of your friends matching that criteria. This open search feature also means users will need to be more mindful of what they post on their Facebook pages as well as the limitations of their privacy settings.
Pay-Per-Message Service - This feature went into the testing stages in December 2012, but as of January you can now pay to message Mr. Zuckerberg himself. The going rate? A cool $100 to send Facebook's CEO a private message. On a larger scale, eventually everyone from business to complete strangers will be allowed to pay to message users of the social media site. There will be stricter inbox filters that won't allow messages through, unless the sender pays.
Facebook Messenger Calling Feature - Facebook now allows free calling via WiFi between Facebook iOS users. This isn't a new idea, services like Skype have allowed for users to make free calls via WiFi for some time now, but Facebook has more users than Skype and other platforms that offer this feature. Maybe this is in preparation for Facebook to release their own phone...
Facebook Pages App for Android - The Facebook Pages App has been available to iPhone users, but it is now available to Android users as well. The Facebook Pages App is definitely geared towards social media managers or business owners with a Facebook page for their brand or service. It is less likely to be needed for a recreational user. Posting on the go is now possible right from your smartphone.