• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, April 11, 2016

What can we expect from Facebook’s F8 developer conference, this week?

Along with a ton of live-video talk, Facebook will reinforce its role as a dominant platform provider and the supreme master of “mobile moments,” Forrester predicts. “Platforms like Facebook are expanding their ownership of mobile moments as measured by both audience minutes and data,” says Forrester principal analyst Julie Ask.

“They are doing so by expanding the number native apps and services they offer and might even be seen as looking to disintermediate the mobile OS players,” according to Ask.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, marketers should definitely be a little worried about Facebook’s immense power.

Indeed, “Facebook is on a path to create distance between brands and their customers, and eventually to dominate customers’ mobile moments and better serve them,” Ask warns. “And they will, because Facebook understands customers better than the brands.”

The good news? Well, at least in theory, Facebook shouldn’t be able to hold onto its dominant position without investing in marketing and commerce technology to help enterprises better engage consumers.

"Facebook must fill out its portfolio of marketing and commerce engagement technology solutions,” Ask insists.

“And as borrowed mobile moments surpass owned mobile moments in volume, enterprises will look to solution providers who can pull all three dimensions -- audience, data, and engagement technology -- together.”