Overhauling Groups Won’t Help Facebook Build Communities

Facebook has a new mission. Rather than “make the world more open and connected,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.” Grandiose marketing slogans and vague promises aside, what this means for you is a renewed focus on Facebook Groups.

Yes, Facebook Groups, the sleeper hit the company unveiled in 2010 and hasn’t done much with since. Groups started as a way of sharing things with smaller circles of people in your life—your family, your book club, your kickball team—without cluttering your profile. Nowadays, though, you can find a group for almost anything. Zuckerberg claims there are 100 million people in “meaningful” groups that they consider vital to their daily lives. He wants to see that number hit 1 billion within five years.

read more- Wired