Facebook To Make Its Videos Embeddable

At its annual F8 Developers Conference in San Francisco, Facebook announced some upcoming changes to its platform. One of the most significant updates concerns the site’s videos, which will now be embeddable on other sites.

Facebook posts that feature videos are already embeddable, but there is currently no way to embed a video a la carte. The new update will change that by enabling users to place Facebook videos across the web.

The decision to update Facebook’s video player is part of the site’s ongoing push toward a bigger focus on video. By 2017, analysts expect video ads to bring in $3.8 billion for the social media site. An embeddable player will be a crucial tool for advertisers  who are looking for more flexible distribution options.

The change is being billed as an important step for Facebook, which is looking to challenge YouTube’s dominance of the online video industry. As Facebook becomes a more legitimate player, YouTube may be fighting back; the day after Facebook’s embeddable video announcement, ReelSEO noted how the site is no longer an option for YouTube users who want to connect to their other social media accounts.

Beyond its embeddable videos, Facebook also announced it will be joining YouTube by supporting 360-degree videos. Those videos will appear in user newsfeeds and will also be available on virtual-reality devices like the Oculus Rift.

A comprehensive list of the upcoming changes Facebook discussed at its Developers Conference is available via Mashable.