Beyond 'HBD,' Facebook Unveils 'Birthday Video Cam'
MENLO PARK (CBS SF) – Looking to move beyond "HBD" and other generic birthday messages, Facebook is offering a new way for users to greet friends and relatives on their birthdays.
According to CNET, the social networking giant based in Menlo Park has unveiled a new feature called "Birthday Video Cam." With it, users can post a short video message on the user's timeline. Videos can also be decorated with birthday-related themes.
"We wanted to find a new way for close friends to post something fun and as quickly as possible," Facebook creative tools product manager Henry Soong told CNET.
Facebook is in the midst of rolling out several new features to the network's more than 1.5 billion users, including live streaming. Emojis that go beyond the simple "Like" are also reportedly being rolled out to U.S. Facebook users in the next few weeks.
Birthday Video Cam is currently available on Facebook's iOS app, with an Android version coming soon.
Tim Fang is a digital producer for CBS San Francisco and a native of the Bay Area. Follow him on Twitter @fangtj.