Facebook launches ‘Forecast’, community based on predictions

Facebook’s internal R&D group, NPE Team has launched a new project called ‘Forecast’ which it explains is the “community for crowdsourced predictions and collective insights.” This invite-only beta will let members “pose questions about the future, make predictions, and discuss and distill their knowledge into a single forecast,” says Rebecca Kossnick, product lead at Facebook Forecast.

So, the aim of delivering this crowdsource wisdom is to answer those who are eager to know what the world might look like in future. Facebook thinks this will also lead to healthier online conversations across a broad range of topics. The social media giant is inviting people in the health, research and academic communities to predict about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the world.

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Facebook will be moderating all the questions that users will ask and the predictions that they will make. Interestingly, the app world on a ‘points’ system using which people will be able to make predictions. That said, the Forecasters can visit each other’s profiles, follow them to get notified about new activities, and can also see their own prediction track record over time and climb the leaderboard for individual topics.

Right now, the Facebook Forecast app is available only for iPhone users (iOS) in the US and Canada. However, the platform will be available for the public via the Forecast website on the web. Those interested would have to sign-up and join the waitlist. The company however, has not yet revealed when it will be making this feature available to others around the globe. The app is still being polished, so expect some changes in the coming days.

“As with most things the NPE team releases, this project is in its very early stages. We’re still working to polish the experience and to understand the quality and value of the forecasts themselves. As all forecasts and conversations are public, we invite you to help us understand how to improve them,” says Kossnick.