Facebook plans to launch a new service for corporate entities that will let individuals working for a company communicate with their colleagues on the social networking site.
However, the profile the users will use will be different from their private accounts on Facebook.
The service is already available on Facebook, and an app has now been released for Apple's iOS and Google's Android operating systems.
On it's website, Facebook has explained the new service thus: "Facebook at Work lets you create a work account that is separate from your personal Facebook account. With a Facebook at Work account, you can use Facebook tools to interact with coworkers. Things you share using your work account will only be visible to other people at your company."
For an employee to create a Facebook at Work account, the site primarily requires that the employer has subscribed to the service.
Facebook then details the signing-up process thus: "If your company is using Facebook at Work, you can set up your account by clicking the link in the email you've received or by visiting [YourCompanyName].facebook.com from your computer. Once you've set up your work account, download the iPhone or Android app to access your account."
However, in case an employer does not use the service but one of its employees wants it, Facebook has put up a form wherein the employee can request more information on the service from the social networking site.
Facebook has been beta-testing the service from February this year, and has kept it "invite" only so far. However, that is about to change, with Julien Codorniou, director of global platform partnerships at Facebook, confirming to Reuters that the service will be launched in the coming months.
Facebook is also developing exclusive products for Facebook at Work, including security tools, which will be especially significant given the possibility that sensitive information might be conveyed through the service.
The cost of access, when Facebook at Work is launched, will reportedly be a few dollars a month per user.
There will be some minor yet significant differences between normal Facebook and Facebook at work. What most will rejoice at is the absence of Candy Crush requests on Facebook at Work. "You cannot play Candy Crush on Facebook at Work," Codorniou told Reuters.
