Facebook on Monday November 15, 2010 unveiled a new messaging platform that takes aim at one of the Internet’s first applications, e-mail.
Mark Zuckerberg: It’s not e-mail, but it handles e-mail, Facebook messages, SMS, Facebook messaging and other instant messaging in a seamless, convergent system that handles all of these methods very easily.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “It’s true that people will be able to have an @facebook.com email addresses, but it’s not email.” The launch of such a feature had been anticipated for some time before the announcement, with some calling it a “Gmail killer.” The system, to be available to all of the website’s users, combines text messaging, instant messaging, emails, and regular messages, and will include privacy settings similar to those of other Facebook services. Codenamed “Project Titan,” Facebook Messages took 15 months to develop.
Zuckerberg said that people will still use Gmail for boring things like paying your bills. He added that Facebook is in the business of helping people socially interact.