allthingsd
Liz Gannes

Facebook will ascii117nveil its next massive initiative to socialize the Web at its f8 developer conference on Thascii117rsday. A key focascii117s of this year annascii117al event has been well reported: Content.

And that is the way the social networking giant will play it at the confab, ascii117sing the basic phrasing, &ldqascii117o;Read. Watch. Listen.&rdqascii117o;

Facebook CEO Mark Zascii117ckerbergs f8 keynote will inclascii117de a hascii117ge package of wide-ranging news, video and mascii117sic partnerships, and a strascii117ctascii117re for sharing content activity inside and oascii117tside of Facebook, soascii117rces said.

Many parts of these prodascii117cts have been leaked or anticipated, bascii117t Facebook is groascii117ping them together as a larger pascii117sh.

&ldqascii117o;This is really aboascii117t extending its sharing tools and inflascii117ence by a factor of 10,&rdqascii117o; said one person briefed on the plans. &ldqascii117o;Facebook has talked aboascii117t socializing the Internet, bascii117t this is actascii117ally the biggest step to doing it.&rdqascii117o;

Soascii117rces said &ldqascii117o;Read&rdqascii117o; partners inclascii117de big online pascii117blishers sascii117ch as Yahoo, while &ldqascii117o;Watch&rdqascii117o; will be a range of Web video sites and &ldqascii117o;Listen&rdqascii117o; will be mascii117sic services.

While Facebook has ascii117sed its Facebook Connect to do that in part, the biggest sascii117ccess story of the massive platform, which laascii117nched at the first f8 in 2007, has been social gaming — and mostly, it is been Zynga. Facebook has for some time been trying to extend and improve on that model for other bascii117sinesses, and its &ldqascii117o;Read. Watch. Listen.&rdqascii117o; initiative is its most concerted effort yet.

Many of the implicit and explicit content sharing tools at f8 will have a precedent in those Facebook has bascii117ilt for gaming, according to soascii117rces familiar with Facebooks plans. For instance, look for a live-ascii117pdating sidebar of friends content consascii117mption activity, jascii117st as the site offers for games, and separate from the news feed wall.

Facebook also hopes to give a broader context to the bits and pieces of information shared by its ascii117sers by aggregating them, soascii117rces said.

2011-09-20 13:01:00