Facebook Launches ‘Mentions,’ The Exclusive FB App For Playing The Fame Game

Facebook is continuing its onslaught of new app rollouts, but this time you likely won’t be able to use what they launch; Mentions is a brand new iPhone app out today that is only available to verified parties using the social network, including “actors, athletes, musicians and other influencers,” with the end goal of getting them involved in discussions and message threads with their fanbase.

Basically, it sounds like an app that provides a distilled version of Facebook focused on high-level review of social activity, and on media sharing, updates and interaction. Come to think of it, it sounds like what Facebook would be without ads, social gaming invites and ploys, BuzzFeed quizzes and the rest of the noise that can clutter up the experience. Facebook’s goal with the app is clearly for the celebrities on its network to drive even greater engagement from the rank and file, and making that happen means paring down the experience overall.

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In addition to providing a feed of ‘mentions’ on FB of the celebrity using the app, it also show you both conversations you’re already following and trending general topics so you can participate in whatever’s hot at the moment on the social network. This could be especially helpful if you’re a rising star looking to accrue more fame and followers by hitching your wagon to various other stars.

High profile members are key to the success of both Facebook and Twitter, and this tool actually makes a lot of sense in terms of helping those growth-generators become more involved with the platform. If you think you belong on the list of those who can download and install Mentions, you need to be verified on FB first; after that, you can download the app to request access to its features, or if you’re an admin for verified FB page, you can ask for access from Facebook directly. For now, I can only dream.