'Facebook At Work' Launch Likely Soon

Facebook’s professional version of its social networking platform called ‘Facebook at Work’ is likely to launch in the coming months, following beta-testing for almost a year, a company executive told Reuters.

“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”, according to the description on the website.

The upcoming platform aims at workplace collaboration and is almost identical to its regular social network, with a scrolling news "feed", "likes" and a chat service. However, users will maintain special profiles on the new platform that are distinct from their existing Facebook profiles.

"I would say 95 percent of what we developed for Facebook is also adopted for Facebook at Work," Julien Codorniou, director of global platform partnerships at Facebook, told Reuters.

Codorniou added that some exclusive products are also being developed for Facebook at Work, including security tools.

It is a free, "invite-only" service for companies so far and will be open to all companies once launched. The company plans to charge "a few dollars per month per user" for premium services such as analytics and customer support, a company spokeswoman told Reuters.

Codorniou said that almost everything on Facebook at Work is the same as the regular Facebook social network, with some minor exceptions – “You cannot play Candy Crush on Facebook at Work”.