Facebook plans to hold an invite-only event Monday in San Francisco, for VIPs in the journalism world. Bloggers and others aware of the secretive invite, however, have begun to speculate.
The most common speculation is the idea surrounding a Facebook e-mail service, Facebook’s answer to Google’s Gmail. Google and other e-mail service providers may need to keep tabs on the ever-growing social network site, especially since Google and Facebook already compete for Internet users and advertising dollars.
Relations between Facebook and Google have not been on the best terms lately and this move would be seen as a direct challenge. If guesses are correct, Facebook e-mail would certainly have immense potential for integrating with the Facebook network. The image on the invitations for the event seems to indicate the event has something to do with the Facebook inbox.
It is speculated that by knowing friends and their details, the e-mail service could sort in order of a person's importance or provide notifications of less common Facebook updates through e-mail. Among other additions, updates could be for Deals nearby, as well as Groups. Furthermore, Facebook Mobile would be inherently covered by the e-mail, although the move would allow Facebook to put e-mail in its own mobile apps or integrate into mobile operating systems that allow it.
Mysterious invites and continuous guesswork seem to be a trend lately for Facebook. Recently, Facebook sent out an invitation for a Nov. 3, Facebook Mobile event with limited detail. Without any additional information, rumors spread. Some users believed a Facebook Phone could be in sight, while skeptics of that theory thought Facebook may be releasing a new mobile application.
It’s all about the element of surprise; keeping consumers, developers, and users guessing, leads to loyal followers. The actual news from the event was a bit of a let down after all the hype and guesswork, but did include updates for Facebook’s iPhone and Android apps, plus news on local deals for Facebook Places.
Jaclyn Allard is a TechZone360 copy editor. She most recently worked on the production team at Juran Institute, a quality consulting firm producing its own training and marketing materials. Previously, she interned at Curbstone Press, a nonprofit publishing press in Willimantic, CT, and fulfilled the role of Editor-in-Chief for the literature and arts journal published by the University of Connecticut. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Jaclyn Allard
