Last week Facebook rolled out threaded comments, a work-in-progress feature that lets you respond to comments directly. This much-needed addition ensures that replies reach the intended recipient instead of getting lost in the comment chain, an obstacle that made it fairly difficult to participate in conversations prior to the launch.  Here with his analysis on Facebook’s latest development is Contributing Editor John Casaretto, who appeared on this morning’s NewsDesk show with Kristin Feledy:

At first glance the sole purpose behind threaded comments is to make it easier for users to socialize with one another, but Facebook has grander plans for this functionality.  The social network enlisted ABC News’ Diane Sawyer, Adrianna Huffington and a number of brands to engage consumers in timed, threaded comments-powered Q&A sessions. This suggests that the company has started targeting established social services that were previously outside its spectrum: Yahoo Answers, Quora, and even Reddit.

“I think that it’s going to have a feel like a number of websites out there, and Reddit is certainly one of them,” SiliconAngle contributing editor John Casaretto said in an interview this morning. “I see it having big affect. Facebook is a huge player, and every time they come to town with a similar game as some of these other sites it’s likely that Facebook is gonna do it, and do it well, and it’s gonna take off. ”

Facebook is getting more aggressive on both social front and in the mobile space: late last month the company announced that it will reveal an Android-powered device with a built-in Facebook button on April 4, three days from now. There’s a strong chance that the phone, which is rumored to be the product of a partnership with HTC, will also include some other form native integration – presumably a unique user interface.

The Facebook Phone was announced only three days after Rasmus Andersson, the social network’s chief mobile designer, left for a position at Dropbox.