Facebook tests stand-alone mobile news app for publishers
Facebook is hard at work developing a stand-alone mobile news app to that will let publishers push out breaking stories, according to reports in Business Insider.
Likened to Twitter, the new tool is believed to be part of the social media firm’s Facebook for Business initiative and is already in the pilot stage with select publishers.
Whilst Facebook remains tight-lipped over just what it has up its sleeve, it is believed that the tool will be available to users who download a new mobile app (described in Facebook parlance as a station), from which specific publications can be selected to receive customised alerts on specific topics or sub-stations.
When breaking news occurs subscribers will be instantly notified via a 100 character alert, akin to a tweet, together with a url link to a more in-depth news article on the partner publication’s own website.