Facebook's F8 Conference: What to Expect

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Wednesday's F8 conference will be the first from Facebook since 2011 (seen here).

By Kurt Wagner2014-04-29 20:07:03 -0400

You can expect one major theme at Facebook's F8 Developer Conference on Wednesday: Mobile. It'll be so central that we should probably say: MOBILE.

It's the first time since 2011 that Facebook has hosted an F8 conference, and a lot has changed for the company since then. Most notably, Facebook and the majority of its developers are no longer building apps for web — they are now building apps for mobile, the platform used by the majority of Facebook users worldwide.

See also: Where in the World Are Facebook's Developers?

As if on cue, Facebook announced 1 billion monthly active users on mobile last week during the company's Q1 earnings call, and mobile expansion will be key to Facebook's long-term growth strategy. Mobile advertising now makes up 59% of Facebook's total ad revenue, up from 30% one year ago.

The conference kicks off Wednesday morning with a keynote from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, followed by a full day of sessions that will focus on topics such as mobile ads, push notifications and mobile games. Facebook is also offering a help station called The Garage where engineers from Facebook and Instagram will help developers fix bugs in their apps.

With 20 sessions on the schedule and 1,500 developers expected to attend, Wednesday promises to be a full day. Here's what you should look out for:

What You Should Expect

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  A continued push for more mobile-app integration. Facebook is adding more apps of its own in 2014 (e.g. WhatsApp, Paper), but the company also wants third-party apps to integrate with Facebook. Perhaps this is obvious — millions of apps are already supported by Facebook Platform — but the company plans to add its next billion users on mobile devices, and third-party apps will help make that happen.

  
  

  Integration means building out elements like Facebook login or Open Graph that allow users to share data back to their profile. Zuckerberg is keynoting the conference, and will likely take that time to tout Facebook's mobile dominance and what that means for third-party developers — essentially, you can reach more users by working with us.

  
  

  The easier it is for apps to integrate with the social platform, the better it is for Facebook. The company will get more data, as users share information back to Facebook, and developers will gain the social element that comes with bringing a user's Facebook friends into an app experience. Plus, who is going to delete their Facebook account if they use it to log in on all their mobile apps?

  
  

  

  
  

  Facebook has more than 1 billion monthly active users on mobile.

  
  


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  More info about Internet.org. Facebook is dedicating a section of the conference to what it calls the Internet.org Innovation Lab, an area where developers can learn tips on building apps for regions without strong or reliable Internet access. It's part of Zuckerberg's plan to provide reliable Internet access worldwide.

  
  

  Facebook has spent a great deal of time internally trying to ensure its own mobile apps will run in developing countries around the world. Now, we'll get to see some of that knowledge passed along to others trying to do the same.

  
  


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  An appearance from Parse CEO Ilya Sukhar. If you aren't familiar with Sukhar, you likely will be following Wednesday's conference. Facebook acquired Parse, which helps developers build mobile and web apps, last April, and Sukhar has since been a visible member of the company.

  
  

  Sukhar keynoted the Parse Developer Day Conference in September, then announced F8's return on stage at South by Southwest in March. He'll likely make an appearance during Zuckerberg's keynote, and it looks like he'll be an important part of Facebook's global-expansion efforts, moving forward.

  
  

What You Shouldn't Expect

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  New products for everyday Facebook users. At the last F8 conference in 2011, Facebook announced Timeline and Open Graph. The latter allows users to share stories back to Facebook from third-party sites and apps. Don't expect a similar unveiling on Wednesday.

  
  

  Facebook will definitely show off some new products, but they will mostly be for developers, and those building apps and services in conjunction with Facebook. This still provides a little mystery, of course. Developer products have a way of coming back to the general users down the road (i.e. Facebook login or installing the Like button on websites). You may not see these products right away, but that doesn't mean they won't impact your Facebook experience.

  
  


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  Another appearance from Andy Samberg. The former Saturday Night Live cast member stole the show in 2011 when he impersonated Zuckerberg on stage during his keynote. Facebook may have something else up its sleeve this year, but we don't expect Samberg to have an encore.

  
  

  That said, this is still Facebook, so we do expect something fun to happen. It is the company's first F8 in three years, after all, so they have some catching up to do.

  
  

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Topics: Apps and Software, Dev & Design, developer conference, f8, Facebook, ilya sukhar, mark zuckerberg, Mobile, parse, Social Media