The rumor mill went crazy over the supposed “Gmail Killer” coming out from Facebook. Honestly, when the buzz machine declares something a “killer” before release, they’re usually dead wrong.

… And they were wrong again. This isn’t a Gmail killer. But, it is new. It is innovative. And it could, indeed, help foster in a new system of online communication.

Today, Facebook announced a total overhaul to their message system. The keyword here is “seamless”. No matter how you like to talk to your friends (email, IM, text messages, etc.), you can now do it with Facebook. You will be getting a facebook.com email address based on your vanity URL on your Facebook profile… but that doesn’t necessarily mean you simply have a new email account to play with.

In short, this is simply a messaging system. You can configure where information goes: whether it be email, text, chat, etc. All of it is stored in a messaging system which will be structured based on conversations with your friends. It will be unified, so if you want a particular friend to be able to message you and you get that message notification on your phone, you can. There are no phone numbers to remember. No email subject lines, CCs or BCCs. Just a message to a friend (if they’re on Facebook, of course).

I have yet to see the new interface. The new service (which will be free) is rolling out to users based on an invitation system (kind of like Gmail’s early days). They want to gather feedback and fix problems before unleashing it on everybody.

It looks like they’ve also partnered with Microsoft to make the new system integrate with Office Live apps, making docs and spreadsheets viewable (and maybe editable) from Facebook. Again, I can’t personally comment on this until I see it in action.

My Personal Take

As usual with big tech news, opinions will flow like water. And you know what they say about opinions…

But, here’s my take.

This is significant, but not in the way people speculated. This isn’t going to kill email and anybody who thought that was a possibility is stupid (or just trying to get attention by being sensationalist).

I see this new system a bit like Google Wave was, except that it has a stated purpose for existing and is expressly designed for that purpose. Google Wave, while innovative, was too free form and couldn’t be explained properly. Hence, it died. Facebook’s new messaging system has several similarities with Wave. However, it can be fairly easily explained and understood. It makes messaging simple and gears it for an established userbase of 500 million people. It will work with the existing communications platforms we already have, and isn’t a totally separate inbox we now have to manage. Plus, it now opens up Facebook communications to people outside the Facebook system.

Some people may elect to switch their messaging over to Facebook, however that isn’t what it is designed for.

Facebook sees a world where having to use cryptic email addresses, or 10-digit phone numbers to contact people is a thing of the past. Will they be right? Probably not for awhile, but a system like this will surely have an impact. The way we communicate is changing, that much is for sure.

Strategically, this was very well played on Facebook’s part. If they had come out today with a Gmail look-alike, it would have done them no favors. Email does not equal social media, and it never will. They know that, so they created something different.

You can learn more about Facebook’s new messaging system here, as well as request an invite to the system. No idea how long it will take for you to get it, but we’ll keep you informed.

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