It seems that Facebook is making major improvements to make the social media website an effective communication tool. Recently, they added hashtags that can serve as topic indexes. Then, they have launched sticker packs that convey emotions through animated characters. Now, they are revealing a chat rooms feature that will be launched soon.

Hidden under the code name Host Chat, users can create chat rooms and no invitations are needed for people to join. This feature is still under the testing stage and when it is launched, it might take the shape of AOL chat rooms in the past. Also, this can be a great option for small group meetings or meeting new acquaintances through other friends.

Since it is still in the testing stage, the feature is only accessible to a minute number of users in selected locations. When it is finally rolled out to the public, Host Chat will face stiff competition from Google Hangouts and Apple iMessage. Emerging applications such as Line, Snapchat and WhatsApp can also make a run for Facebook's money.

The chat rooms feature can make Facebook users stay for longer periods of time. The more that they communicate translates to increases in traffic for the social networking giant. They might be enticed to check their news feeds longer and they may log in countless minutes in chat. From here, the company can create more income-generating means like creating stickers packs for a fee or placing advertisements on the chat rooms.

How Will Facebook Chat Rooms Look Like?

Since the feature is still in relative incubation, there is a chance that it might not happen. But if it is unveiled to the public, a "host chat" feature will be included in the status update options. Once it is clicked, the host can provide a specific name for the room and he can add people into it. The interface may look like the existing Facebook chat but bigger in order to contain all the data needed.

Details about the news chat room will be published in the news feeds of the creator's friends and they can join without waiting for an invitation. This is the same principle that works for chats within Facebook Groups but the number of people who will can the chat is limitless. However, the host can alter the privacy settings and can remove people who are already part of the chat. There might also be a possibility that second degree friends can join a chat room although this is not yet confirmed.

A team of Facebook personnel has been assigned to develop the chat rooms feature and it will only support texts at first. Eventually, multimedia files such as photographs and video will also be included. Also, there is no confirmation yet whether sticker packs will already be included in the first offering. The team is also working on the privacy issues that might surface once the feature is launched.

In a broader scale, this new offering can help improve the website's social graph indexing because of the possibility that people with the same interest will open one chat room and communicate freely. This will then enable Facebook to funnel advertisements to the right target market.

While this is a promising advancement, the challenge for Facebook is to make this more than just a chat room. They have to incorporate several features that will prevent users from jumping into other options. Perhaps they can take a page out of Google Hangouts and include group video chats.