Facebook reportedly ready to launch Notify app
The social networking company is set to debut its new stand-alone app possibly as soon as next week, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Facebook will use the app to continue its push into the news arena, reportedly working with "dozens" of partners, including the Washington Post, Vogue and CBS News. The FT also reports that Facebook is in talks to partner with CNN and Comedy Central.
With the app, users will be able to subscribe to specific news organizations and receive notifications when there is breaking news.
Facebook did not respond to a request for comment at deadline.
"Facebook has become a de facto standard for people to get news, so being able to deliver real-time news through this app is a logical extension," said Zeus Kerravala, an analyst with ZK Research. "Much of that news is already in Facebook but someone has to post it. Now Notify will aggregate it and push it to the subscriber."
Notify could be a good response to recent news effort by social media rivals Twitter and Snapchat.
Twitter recently unveiled Moments, a news aggregation feature for mobile users. Snapchat also has its Discovery feature, which launched in January.
Facebook users currently can follow multiple news sites to get headlines scrolling through their News Feed. However, users need to click on the link and go to the news site to read the entire story.
With the Notify app, users reportedly won't need to go to the news site, since the story will appear in their app. Users will be able to customize their news sources.
It's unclear whether the app will be a good deal for news services since the app will mean fewer clicks for them. For Facebook, though, it will mean users are spending more time on a Facebook property.
"I'm not sure [Notify] will give Facebook more eyes, but it keeps the eyes they have on Facebook longer," Kerravala said. "That means more ad revenue and more profits."