It isn’t rare to hear someone complaining that “Facebook isn’t what it used to be” and “I remember when it was only college students and adults”. In past years there has been an abundance of children, spam accounts, and even pets (I don’t get it either) occupying the Facebook world and, yes, it has become quite the topic of discussion when explaining why some Facebook users check their timelines less frequently. That conversation is about to change, though. Facebook announced “FB@work” which is recently talked about as “Facebook At Work”. |
Facebook At Work is a new subsection of Facebook that essentially allows companies to create their own groups within Facebook that employees can use to communicate and update one another. The app is accessible through both iOS and Android and will function similarly to the original Facebook that we all know and love, except might not include pictures of your drunken bachelorette escapade in Vegas… or maybe it will, if your boss is into seeing that. It is implied that employers will have their employees make an account solely for the group, but it is an option to connect an existing personal account to a new work group. Coworkers will be able to share documents, instantaneously chat, and create company-wide posts for everyone connected to the group to see. So far Facebook At Work does not have the capability to do direct editing on documents being sent and received through the app, but various reports on the subject have included the world “yet” quite a few times in regard to that feature, so it may be a feature coming shortly.
Although the price (if any) is not yet determined, it is not expected to be nearly as high as its competitor LinkedIn. Actually, there are quite a few reasons why Facebook At Work is predicted to take some of LinkedIn’s current users. As previously stated, LinkedIn can be on the pricier side. The basic package for it is free, but the costs quickly add up and can get to $59.99 per month for features such as “easier searching” and seeing who has searched for your account in the past 90 days. The next, and possibly most obvious reason Facebook At Work poses a threat to LinkedIn, is that Facebook is extremely popular and accessed globally with about 1.19 billion active users. Compared to LinkedIn’s 332 million active users, Facebook has quite an advantage in the amount of people that are familiar with the layout and components of the website.
Although the price (if any) is not yet determined, it is not expected to be nearly as high as its competitor LinkedIn. Actually, there are quite a few reasons why Facebook At Work is predicted to take some of LinkedIn’s current users. As previously stated, LinkedIn can be on the pricier side. The basic package for it is free, but the costs quickly add up and can get to $59.99 per month for features such as “easier searching” and seeing who has searched for your account in the past 90 days. The next, and possibly most obvious reason Facebook At Work poses a threat to LinkedIn, is that Facebook is extremely popular and accessed globally with about 1.19 billion active users. Compared to LinkedIn’s 332 million active users, Facebook has quite an advantage in the amount of people that are familiar with the layout and components of the website.
Another point to take into consideration is who is using each application currently. Most people on LinkedIn are already in their upper level education or careers, whereas Facebook users include those same groups as well as younger generations that will be looking into entering the workforce within the next 5-10 years. If Facebook At Work comes out this year, those future generations that are already Facebook savvy may be more inclined to stick with what they know rather than make a switch to another platform that has a similar purpose. A common complaint about LinkedIn is that it takes a long time to learn its features and how to navigate it in general. This could be a factor in whether or not one attempts to join a new website at all.
Whether or not a person prefers to stick with the tried-and-true LinkedIn or the up-and-coming Facebook At Work really just depends on what he or she is comfortable with and what exactly they are looking for in a business networking website.
- Mackenzie Williamson, Contributing Writer
Whether or not a person prefers to stick with the tried-and-true LinkedIn or the up-and-coming Facebook At Work really just depends on what he or she is comfortable with and what exactly they are looking for in a business networking website.
- Mackenzie Williamson, Contributing Writer