Facebook are soon to introduce a professional format as part of plans to challenge Google and Microsoft. Although founded in 2004 as a means for students to interact online, its unprecedented popularity led to businesses launching official accounts. Now Facebook intends to become an integral part of daily office functions with what has been dubbed Facebook at Work, a social media format for companies and their employees.
The news was broken by The Financial Times, which stated Facebook intend to compete directly with the likes of Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Google. These companies have provided popular software such as Gmail, Google+, Microsoft Office, and business networking services, as a result making them a successful and productive means for business professionals to communicate. The arrival of Facebook on the scene has many implications. Here is what the business world can expect.
Facebook At Work
With over 1 billion people already on Facebook, the foundation for success is clearly there. Millions of businesses are already active users of Facebook’s services, but the key will be to go above and beyond the accessibility of Google and Microsoft with their new product. As The Financial Times reported, “The Silicon Valley company is developing a new product designed to allow users to chat with colleagues, connect with professional contacts, and collaborate over documents." From this it's clear Facebook are heading all out to compete with the likes of Google Drive, Gmail, Microsoft Office, and LinkedIn. They will be aiming to become a central aspect of daily office conversation, and can rely on their colossal popularity as a launchpad into the office environment.
The news was picked up by journalists and industry insiders across the world and sparked a flurry of debate. A central talking point has been Facebook's opportunity to redress the concerns over their product and build upon their status as a vital business tool. As reported by The Financial Times, the new site will have “a newsfeed and groups – but will allow users to keep their personal profile with its holiday photos, political rants, and silly videos separate from their work identity.”
Whilst it’s expected Facebook at Work will resemble regular Facebook in its design, the new concept is about promoting (rather than inhibiting) business interaction. It is important for Facebook to address this issue, as for many years they have been considered a source of wasted money by business owners. The social networking site has proven highly bothersome due to its addictive qualities and procrastination-promoting nature. Many employees have found themselves inadvertently surfing through their news feed as opposed to doing their job, which has led to Facebook being banned in many companies.
Facebook also endure ongoing criticisms about their handling of data, and will have to be proactive in allaying fears of any confidential documents or conversations being leaked by their new product. Asides from this, the ramifications are interesting on a global business level. The service will no doubt be free, but the key question is whether it can impact on the established business communication software. Certainly if your company has a serious procrastination habit with Facebook, taking up the professional service could be a useful move. Meanwhile the implications for sites such as LinkedIn are severe, as Facebook's service will undoubtedly impact upon their efforts as a professional networking tool.
In Other Facebook News
The company's regular Messenger service recently breached the 500 million users mark. It launched in 2011 and its progress could hint at plans for their impending professional service. As the company stated, "[Messenger] is just as fast as SMS but gives you the ability to express yourself in ways that SMS can’t. You can send stickers or videos, take selfies, chat with groups and make free calls. We’ve also continued to improve speed and reliability. Updates to Messenger ship every two weeks so it continues to evolve and improve."
A major policy upgrade launched in November 2014. Essentially, the upgrades focus on privacy and user experience improvements. Perhaps most interesting is the heavy focus on privacy upgrades. A Privacy Basics tool has been introduced offering advice for users on how to control their Facebook experience. Other changes include an upgrade to how advertisements are displayed, and data and cookie policy changes. For full details you can visit their newsroom.
Finally, a new app was launched in mid-November called Facebook Groups. As the official blog post indicates, it "helps people share faster and more easily with all the groups in their life." It condenses a user's favourite groups into an accessible format, making for further time saving. Once more, it hints at how Facebook At Work will play out once it is released.
