Facebook could have a Reader in the works too

Google’s imminent exit from the RSS reader space might just have sparked other tech giants to fill the void. After news about AOL Reader’s launch this week, we have word about Facebook bringing a similar service for mobile devices. 

Sources close to the company have told The Wall Street Journal that teams within Menlo Park have been quietly working for over a year on a service that showcases content from users and publishers in a “new visual format”, designed especially for mobile. It will reportedly be called Reader and sources have gone on to reveal that some earlier versions of this under-development service were akin to Flipboard, the popular visual news aggregator for iOS and Android. 

New service in the making

It must be noted that there there is no clarity on when Reader will be making its debut. When Facebook unveiled the new News Feed, there was a emhpasis on giving publishers a bigger space for branding. So all shared news articles or posts from your subcribed pages come with the logo of the publisher.  The Reader service seems like a logical extension of it.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

If you’ve been tracking how Facebook looks and the features it offers, you would have a hard time recognising the older avatar, so much as the world’s most popular social network changed in recent times. Besides adding to features of Instagram, we have seen more fun things like adding images to your comments, or hashtags. The Reader service will be yet another new play from Facebook and another attempt to grab a piece of the mobile pie.