Business-Friendly Facebook Could Be LinkedIn Killer
Using Facebook at work often consists of sharing cat videos when you probably shouldn't be, but a new "Facebook at Work" service could consist of living spreadsheets and professional contacts. The social media giant is reportedly working on a business-oriented version of Facebook that's designed to replace the likes of Google Drive and LinkedIn.
According to the Financial Times, Facebook at Work could look very much like standard Facebook, but with a news feed that would replace arguments over Kim Kardashian with new business contacts and invitations to collaborate on documents a la Google Drive. The report claims that users would be able to keep their personal and work Facebook accounts completely separate.
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The Financial Times (FT) claims that Facebook employees often use the social media site for everyday work tasks (you don't say?), which has led to Facebook at Work's creation over the past year. Regular Facebook currently has a few tools that can aid productivity, like private discussion groups, but no part of the social network is specifically designed to help you get work done.
Facebook declined to provide FT with an official comment on Facebook at Work, though the report claims that the service is being "tested with companies as its launch approaches."
We'd have to try Facebook at Work ourselves to judge its usefulness, but if the service can blend Google Drive's productivity tools, LinkedIn's networking resources and a thorough layer of security and privacy, it could prove to be a handy central hub for office work. There's no word on when to expect the office-flavored Facebook to hit your browser, but until then, you can still use regular old Facebook in all its productivity-killing glory.
Source: Financial Times
Mike Andronico is an Associate Editor at Tom's Guide. Follow Mike @MikeAndronico and on Google+. Follow us @TomsGuide, on Facebook and on Google+
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