Facebook F8 conference as it happened: Zuckerberg gets ready to unveil chatbots, live video and more
The tech community is waiting to hear Mark Zuckerberg's latest plans for the world's biggest social network
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Your support makes all the difference.Facebook's F8 developer conference has kicked off, and the world of tech is waiting eagerly for some big announcements.
There's been a steady stream of rumours about what Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is going to unveil at the opening of the conference.
Chatbots are believed to be one of the major new products, smart conversational programs built in to Facebook Messenger that can order pizzas, book taxis and reserve tickets. We're also expecting more details on its live video streaming tool, and possibly new plans for virtual reality (VR).
Follow our liveblog below to keep up-to-date with all the latest news from the conference.
Keep reading The Independent for more detailed news from the conference in Fort Mason, San Francisco as it comes.
Things are beginning to warm up over in San Francisco, as attendees wait for the conference to begin. 
A look inside @facebook's #F8 conference. No one in this hall yet, everyone is lined up for the keynote.https://t.co/iam9BVmr2W
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This is Facebook we're talking about, so obviously it's all flashy blue lights, projections (probably) a few Zuckerberg-style grey hoodies.
And we're off! The first keynote of this year's F8 conference is about to begin.
We're getting a nice little inspirational video to start with - only a few seconds in and we've seen a few glimpses of 360-degree video and virtual reality.
At this year's F8, there's over 80 speakers in 40 different sessions - it's almost like Glastonbury.An impressive 2,600 people are also expected to attend the conference.
As is custom with tech conference livestreams, there's currently a nice bit of an awkward preamble from two overly-enthusiastic presenters to begin with.
F8's name is a reference to Facebook's culture - the '8' stands for typical eight-hour hackathons, and also represents the innovation employees are expected to do outside the usual eight-hour workday.Not the most glamorous origin story, really.
Tech fans around the world are actually hosting F8 viewing parties - like this one in Lagos, Nigeria. 
#Facebook#F8 viewing party here @Cc_HUBhttps://t.co/mL86grYJw2
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"We're going to walk through our roadmap for the next 10 years" - Zuckerberg has taken to the stage.
Naturally, it includes virtual reality, live video, bots and "bringing the world together."
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