What\u2019s better than a few geofilters? A billion algorithmically generated filters. That\u2019s Facebook Messenger\u2019s strategy to steal the visual communication crown from Snapchat, thanks to its new camera feature that rolls out today. Well, actually, \u201ca billion\u201d is selling it short.
Messenger\u2019s camera can make an infinite number of overlaid graphics to jazz up your photos and videos. It takes anything you type, and then programmatically spawns art that blows up those words in goofy fonts that you can splash atop your imagery. If Messenger recognizes the meaning of your text in any of 15 different popular languages, it will even offer up filters with related art.
Plus, it\u2019s got augmented reality selfie lenses, holiday-themed masks, props to paste on, Prisma-esque style transfers, influencer-suggested filters, and art that helps you tell friends what you\u2019re doing or ask them to hang out. This camera is a swipe away or tap away at all times, living a layer beneath the rest of Messenger.
\u201cA lot more conversations are starting from photos\u201d, Facebook\u2019s head of Messenger David Marcus tells me. Around 10%, in fact. \u201cWe wanted to make sure we could be a first-class citizen when it comes to visual messaging, and naturally for that you need a good camera.\u201d
2.5 billion photos, videos, emoji, and stickers are already sent each day on Messenger. Now that emergent behavior is getting the product support it deserves. The new features are rolling out to all users today and tomorrow on iOS and Android , and the holiday effects should be available for everyone by December 21st.
TechCrunch got a deep look inside the creation of the new Messenger camera, speaking with execs and artists to learn why and how the texting app is redefining itself in the age of chat via images.
For a social network that\u2019s really just a skeleton brought to life by the media its users share, Facebook has always had a penchant for art. As I walk the immense length of Facebook\u2019s 430,000 square foot new Menlo Park office building, it\u2019s hard not to stop and gawk at the posters. Facebook\u2019s Analog Research Lab screen printing room churns out motivational banners with wild colors and bold text.
Now Facebook is bringing that flare inside Messenger. \u201cAt first we didn\u2019t have any art so we had to work to assemble an art team\u201d Marcus explains. They were tasked with turning the most commonly expressed feelings, activities, and questions into images people could stick on their Messenger photos. And not just in English.
\u201cWe work with creators all over the world for people all over the world\u201d says Jennifer Whitley, Messenger\u2019s Creative Director. \u201cOne-third of our library is created for specific regions and demographics.\u201d Both social media influencers and local graphic designers were recruited to give Messenger a diversity of iconography.
That comes with risks, though. Snapchat was criticized for offering a \u201cyellowface\u201d selfie filter that looked like an Asian stereotype. Whitley tells me that when Messenger\u2019s team made art for countries like Thailand, \u201cwe vet that and get that reviewed by people who speak the language. We don\u2019t want to help self-expression that could be dangerous.\u201d
Meanwhile, design and engineering teams worked to extract meaning from common phrases, and link them to different art so Messenger can create \u201cprogrammatic frames\u201d that scale to 15 languages, with more coming. And by collaborating with the MSQRD artificial intelligence selfie filter team Facebook acquired this year , they built out a slew of new masks to make you look funny, or just more comfortable, on camera.
A gallery of all the different Messenger art
Before Facebook suddenly acquired Instagram in 2012, it was building its own photo editing app called\u2026 Facebook Camera. Before getting shut down to give Instagram room to breathe, it taught the company about multi-image uploads and color filters.
Now Facebook is reviving the project. It\u2019s testing some of the same features in Facebook proper as are launching today on Messenger, in a multi-pronged attack on Snapchat, which has become its most cunning competitor. The new camera is also at the heart of Messenger\u2019s direct Snapchat Stories clone called \u201cMessenger Day\u201d that debuted a few months ago in Poland and is now testing in 15 countries.
Here\u2019s a crash course in all the new Messenger Camera features:
Swipe To Access : Just pull down from anywhere on the Messenger app\u2019s inbox, hit the overlaid shutter button, or the camera icon in threads to open the camera. It sits behind your inbox as well as individual threads so you can instantly capture those spontaneous moments
Stylized Shutter Button : To tip you off if there\u2019s new seasonal creative tools you won\u2019t want to miss, the normally transparent shutter button that sits atop your inbox will occasionally get bedazzled with holiday gift wrapping or other effects to let you know there are Santa hats and reindeer antlers to try on
Shoot First, Pick Friends Later : Now instead of having to a pick a thread, then shoot a photo, you capture content first, then select all the different friends or group chats you want to send it to in a distribution screen reminiscent of Snapchat
Selfie Masks, Style Transfers, And Effects: Before you shoot, you can add different Snapchat-style 3D selfie masks, filters that make your images look like paintings, and environmental effects.
Art Picker: After you shoot, tap on the Smiley icon atop the camera screen, and you\u2019ll pull up a tray of all the different art you can add. They\u2019re broken up into categories like \u201cI\u2019m Doing\u201d, \u201cI\u2019m Feeling\u201d and \u201cWho\u2019s Up For?\u201d, which combine art and utility to turn boring text messages int eye-catching imagery so you\u2019ll be more social
Programmatic Frames: Type words into the Art Picker\u2019s search box, and you\u2019ll see pre-made art related to the meaning of your text. And if it\u2019s a name, gibberish, or something Messenger doesn\u2019t understand, it will algorithmically generate stylized filters that incorporate your words in fun fonts
Props: Add some eyeglasses, a hat, or a beard with prop stickers you can paste on your face. Grab a multi-piece disguise and resize different pieces separately to fit your head
Type, Doodle, Or Sticker: You can also spice up your images the old-fashioned way with overlaid text, drawing, or any of Facebook Messenger\u2019s popular stickers
Blank Canvas : If you don\u2019t want to take a photo, you can swipe sideways or hit the palette button to create a solid color canvas to write on-top of or adorn with stickers that are already sent 2 billion times per day
\u201cWhen I already know what I want to say, how do I personalize what I\u2019m saying?\u201d That\u2019s how Messenger Director Of Product Management Peter Martinazzi describes the intent of all these new features.
There are plenty of visual \u201ccommunication\u201d apps, from Snapchat to Instagram and beyond. But they were all built off a base of photo sharing, rather than messaging. So while other apps might focus on showing friends something fun, Messenger\u2019s camera has a practical bent. It wants to help you make plans, express what\u2019s on your mind, and inform close friends what you\u2019re up to.
\u201cAt its core it\u2019s a messaging app, so we want to make sure if you want to communicate \u2018who\u2019s up for drinks?\u2019, you can do that in a really cool, engaging way\u201d Marcus concludes. \u201cThe main use case we\u2019re trying to power is people communicating with their friends and families, expressing themselves when they\u2019re apart.\u201d
This is the latest of a dozen attempts by Facebook to copy Snapchat\u2019s top features and prevent more users from straying there. Facebook appears undaunted by criticism of it stealing ideas, hoping its versions will stick even if they make it look unoriginal or uncool to some.
Maintaining Messenger\u2019s efficiency as a utility is critical. Over one billion users rely on it to handle the normal conversations that get them through the days. Messenger can\u2019t stray too far from the mission or people will ditch it for more spartan chat apps. That\u2019s why it\u2019s worked to embed the new art features without obstructing the speed of text if people want to keep it simple.
And that\u2019s where the true opportunity for Messenger is. Rather than ham-handedly trying to force the logistics of your life through an ephemeral content platform like Snapchat or a photos-first app like Instagram, its camera is designed to augment words rather than replace them.
That could even make us less lonely. Tossing a drab \u201cwho wants to hang out?\u201d text into a group chat can seem desperate, discouraging the shy. But if Messenger makes that same question fun to look at it, we might not be so apprehensive to reach out.<\/p>\n