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'Facebook at Work' Said to be Quietly in Development, Will Take on LinkedIn, Google and Microsoft

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Facebook is reportedly developing a professional social network to go head-to-head with LinkedIn, aptly named "Facebook at Work."

Unnamed sources told the Financial Times that Facebook at Work will also offer a service that will allow professionals to chat and share documents. This would add online products like Google Drive and Microsoft Office to its list of potential competitors.

Facebook has not made any public comment on the matter, but the sources said Work will have the social media's look - newsfeed, chat and groups - without the photo albums, viral videos and click bait.

Facebook users outnumber LinkedIn's about one billion to 90 million, but the latter stands alone to dominate the market for online business networking. But Facebook at Work would also be taking on the Microsoft's Outlook email service and Office programs, as well as Google's Drive and Gmail.

To do so, FT's sources said the social media giant will need to earn the confidence of many major companies. For example, work places around the world have Facebook banned from their private networks since it is a huge source for distractions. Facebook will also have to prove its service is secure as secure can be, since employees would be sharing sensitive information with one another.

If it seems like a tall order for Facebook, the social network was only available to people with a Harvard.edu email address some 10 years ago. In July, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg boasted that his company "still had room to grow." He noted that users who are on Facebook spend more time watching TV, using their phones and roaming elsewhere on the Internet.

"There's a big opportunity to improve the way people connect and share," he said at the time.

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