Facebook is reportedly developing a new social network for working professionals.
The new site will be called Facebook at Work and when it goes live it will operate in a similar fashion to services such as LinkedIn, creating a “safe for work” version of the popular social site.
The intention is that this will allow users to communicate with fellow colleagues and share files or perform work-related tasks online – replacing the need for email, while keeping the weekend’s antics and silly selfies away from the scrutinising eyes of professional connections and potential employers.
Those who have seen Facebook at Work (development title FB@Work) have revealed that in appearances it follows a similar style to the Facebook we know and love (and can’t leave alone) which is currently populated by 1.32 billion monthly active users (according to stats recorded June 2014.) Only this one will not feature so many cat videos in the news feed – unless your business is cats, of course.
A number of highbrow sources including business newspaper The Financial Times suggest that the new platform is now being developed in secret and tested with only a handful of companies in the U.S before an official announcement from Zuckerberg and Co. will be made about Facebook at Work becoming publically available.
Separating business from personal Facebook is a very good idea but there’s no indication yet on whether we’ll be able to use an existing account for both like a social networking Jeckle and Hyde or whether a totally new one will be required to connect with Facebook at Work. These are among many questions Facebook is yet to answer.