Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Facebook Targets Office Workers With Facebook At Work Service

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the like-your-boss dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Facebook unveiled its rumored "at Work" service to a handful of partners today. Facebook at Work puts co-workers into a standalone social network and allows them to share posts and images appropriate for the workplace but looks and acts just like regular Facebook. "We have found that using Facebook as a work tool makes our work day more efficient," Lars Rasmussen, Facebook's director of engineering, tells WIRED. "You can get more stuff done with Facebook than any other tool that we know of, and we'd like to make that available to the whole world.""

31 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. More stuff done by OverlordQ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Because we want to data mine all your work correspondence as well.

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
    1. Re:More stuff done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      One wrong line of code and all my work-inappropriate stuff will suddenly be thrown in the face of co-workers while they are trying to do their jobs.

      I trust this about as far as an ant can spit.

    2. Re:More stuff done by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 5, Funny

      One wrong line of code and all my work-inappropriate stuff will suddenly be thrown in the face of co-workers while they are trying to do their jobs.

      I trust this about as far as an ant can spit.

      Actually, some spitting variants of ants can do a pretty good job. The formic acid has some neurotoxins that let them stun their prey.

      But, yeah, totally agree.

      --
      -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    3. Re:More stuff done by LessThanObvious · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They have already proven beyond all doubt there is no good reason to trust them. Why would anyone share the details of their professional life or business contacts with them? For some businesses this will be useful, but for the other 95% this is a terrible idea. It's a security risk that can't even yet be quantified. Data will leak, employees and customers will be poached, Phish will be speared. Nice try Facebook, but seriously fuck off.

    4. Re:More stuff done by antdude · · Score: 2

      I can't spit, but I can drool. :P~

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  2. What about privacy? by lurker412 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sure, but what businesses are so dumb that they will share their internal communications with another company?

    1. Re:What about privacy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      How many businesses have outsourced their email to Google or Micro$oft?

      Shittons of businesses are that dumb.

    2. Re:What about privacy? by DigitAl56K · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Sure, but what businesses are so dumb that they will share their internal communications with another company?

      For me it wouldn't even be about "with another company", it would be more along the lines of "look how Facebook has repeatedly fucked over the general end user on privacy issues, are we really going to trust our internal communications to these guys?".

    3. Re:What about privacy? by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Sure, but what businesses are so dumb that they will share their internal communications with another company?

      Pretty much all of the ones that use that new-fangled telephone. Of course, back in the days when the telegraph was the thing, well, pretty much all of them used that too.

      And the USPS does, in fact, have a pretty solid metadata look inside most businesses, since they know the destination of pretty much every package and letter sent or received in the USA.

      Note that teleconferencing sans Facebook still means the entire datastream is going over wires owned by, well, another business, who can look, or not, at their discretion.....

      In other words, the only thing new here is the Facebook logo....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    4. Re:What about privacy? by DerekLyons · · Score: 2, Interesting

      For me it wouldn't even be about "with another company", it would be more along the lines of "look how Facebook has repeatedly fucked over the general end user on privacy issues, are we really going to trust our internal communications to these guys?"

      Looking at how Facebook has repeatedly failed to fuck over end users with privacy issues - I'd be tempted to trust them. You pretty much never hear of data being accidentally exposed (due a fault with Facebook rather than user cluelessness) and I've never heard of Facebook being hacked. (Hint: Openly selling data, as the user agreed to when they "signed" the terms of service, is *NOT* the same fucking someone over in a manner that would cause a private user with a different TOS concern.)

    5. Re:What about privacy? by DerekLyons · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Do you like to stick your fingers in your ears and go "la la la la!". Top result:

      Is a completely irrelevant page about a security flaw - not about a hack into Facebook's data.
       

      and why do you think they have this?

      Because it's a damm good idea and best practice? I dunno about you (given your abundantly displayed ignorance), but being proactive and following best practices is a good thing from where I sit.
       

      You have to be really nuts to be defending Facebook of all companies when it comes to user privacy.

      Not at all - because unlike you, I'm not clueless and grasp the issues here.

    6. Re:What about privacy? by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 2

      You misspelled cheap.

      (Don't forget the main reason hosted services like this even exist.)

      They exist because they beat the insanity of hosting email yourself. They exist because it's stupid to have to transfer your email hosting every time you transfer your web hosting (the other common alternative). They exist because they make doing business easier with less disruption.

      Remember, your alternatives are 1. host it yourself, 2. host it with your ISP, 3. host it with your website hosting. It's not immediately obvious why any of those are obvious winners over hosting it with a large well known technology company specifically offering an email service.

  3. Oh dang, I'm sorry by thebes · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "I thought I was on our work Facebook, not the regular one. Sorry, it will never happen again."

  4. He is TOTALLY right! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "We have found that using Facebook as a work tool makes our work day more efficient," Lars Rasmussen, Facebook's director of engineering, tells WIRED. "You can get more stuff done with Facebook than any other tool that we know of, and we'd like to make that available to the whole world.""

    I am a professional stuff doer. I used to use Microsoft Office but I found I could only crunch numbers, make presentations and write documents.

    But do stuff?

    Nope.

    Then came facebook at work and all the changed!

    My boss walked into my cube and asked, "Anon, how do you get all this stuff done so fast!"

    I said, "facebook at work."

    He was so impressed. He then said, "I tell you. I get THE best workers from Dice.com! Oh, I'm glad to see that you are Slashdot because we all know, to get the latest in IT, software development news, security and everything that a company and worker needs to know, is on Slashdot - a Dicey company!"

  5. Re:Situational Awareness by DigitAl56K · · Score: 2

    Then you might have a badly managed workplace?

  6. Facebook... by sycodon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...it's like watching legions of people buy Pet Rocks or Cabbage Patch Dolls.

    Why? Just, why?

    --
    When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
  7. Re:Situational Awareness by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 4, Funny

    Then you might have a badly managed workplace?

    Doesn't everybody?

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  8. Stop messing with Slashdot by ArcadeMan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The layout is wrong, on some pages I don't even get a scrollbar and my scrollwheel doesn't work either, what the fuck are you morons doing? Don't experiment with the live servers!

    --
    Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
    1. Re:Stop messing with Slashdot by dmbasso · · Score: 4, Informative

      It is not the full beta. Just the tip.

      --
      `echo $[0x853204FA81]|tr 0-9 ionbsdeaml`@gmail.com
  9. Great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Once you get your company using, then Facebook can change the privacy policy, and sell your workplace pictures, photos, notes, ect to the highest bidder.

  10. Slashvertizement ... by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "We have found that using Facebook as a work tool makes our work day more efficient," Lars Rasmussen, Facebook's director of engineering, tells WIRED

    Well, if a guy who works at Facebook says it, it must be true.

    This article is complete crap.

    The use of social media in most companies is a complete joke -- it doesn't add anything of value in most cases, it's just hopping on the latest stupid trend.

    Every time I've seen a corporation trying to "leverage social media techologies in-house" my bullshit alarm bells go off, and the end results are under-whelming toys which don't actually provide any business value -- other than giving people badges for participating.

    Hell, in at least two cases, I've seen a reduction in business value over what had already been there. Because the social media wasn't useful for anything.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  11. Less stuff done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    News Feed will populate with posts shared by the coworkers who you already interact with the most, Rasmussen says. The posts that see more shares will spread further, until the entire company might see it.

    I find that my news feed on Facebook only sorts by popularity. So information that is important, like the death of a friend is hidden under 80 pictures of cats doing stupid stuff. So I expect Facebook at Work will show me lots of "news" about Jenny's promotion, and the death of John's dog, both working in divisions 3 states away, but never see that post from the intern in the data center trying to tell me that the database server has caught fire. No thank you Facebook.

  12. Our work day is more efficient WITHOUT Facebook by AnalogDiehard · · Score: 2

    I work for a major corporation and they started blocking FB last year. They found that FB was disrupting too many people so it makes our work day more efficient.

    --
    Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
  13. So, it's Yammer? by pLnCrZy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yammer is like Facebook, but for business!

    Facebook At Work is like Facebook, but for business!

    So Yammer copied Facebook, and Facebook copied Yammer... where's the egg?

  14. Facebook, Slack, Skype... by dubbayu_d_40 · · Score: 2

    Everyone keeps trying to turn the work day into one constant meeting. Good luck with that.

  15. Re:Yo Dawg by geekmux · · Score: 2

    I heard you work at Facebook, so we put Facebook on your computer so you can use Facebook while you work at Facebook

    I wonder how Facebook deals with the problem of employees abusing social media during company time?

    Would be rather strange to hear management threatening you with termination for not drinking the corporate kool-aid as they continue to build consumer addiction.

  16. FAIL by vikingpower · · Score: 2

    You can get more stuff done with Facebook than any other tool that we know of

    I know of one tool that I - and many, many others - can get shittons of work done with: concentration. Think about / work at a problem. Tinker. Fail, wrong direction, try again. Think, work, tinker. Only necessary precondition: no distractions. Works great. Tiring ? Hell, yeah. Rewarding ? Fuck, yeah.

    --
    Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
  17. My Worst Nightmare by gunner_von_diamond · · Score: 3

    My only friends are my co-workers!

  18. What I want to know by SLot · · Score: 4, Interesting

    is the part about the plan to sell your information to your prospective new employer when you change jobs?

    "oh, well, it seems like he wasn't really a team player - only posted once every couple of days. better rescind that job offer."

    this is a horrible idea, all the way down. (turtles not included).

  19. Could have trouble internationally. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 2

    "You have a friend request from NSA."

  20. Talking points for your management... by knorthern+knight · · Score: 2

    ...if they ever consider "Facebook For Work". Mark Zuckerburg is backstabbing sleazebag who has no conscience. Consider how he joined the Winklevoss twins' "Harvard Connection" (aka ConnectU) project, stole their ideas, and delayed the ConnectU project whilst he set up his own project (TheFacebook.com) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C... His attitude to users is one of absolute contempt, and total disregard for their personal data confidentiality. Does your management really want him having access to your internal emails? If it's not blocked by your worksite due to NSFW language, point your management to http://www.newyorker.com/magaz... Here's a relevant snippet from the article

    === Begin Snippet ===
    The technology site Silicon Alley Insider got hold of some of the messages and, this past spring, posted the transcript of a conversation between Zuckerberg and a friend, outlining how he was planning to deal with Harvard Connect:

            FRIEND: so have you decided what you are going to do about the websites?
            ZUCK: yea I'm going to fuck them
            ZUCK: probably in the year
            ZUCK: *ear

    In another exchange leaked to Silicon Alley Insider, Zuckerberg explained to a friend that his control of Facebook gave him access to any information he wanted on any Harvard student:

            ZUCK: yea so if you ever need info about anyone at harvard
            ZUCK: just ask
            ZUCK: i have over 4000 emails, pictures, addresses, sns
            FRIEND: what!? how'd you manage that one?
            ZUCK: people just submitted it
            ZUCK: i don't know why
            ZUCK: they "trust me"
            ZUCK: dumb fucks

    === End Snippet ===

    --

    I'm not repeating myself
    I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user