Facebook is reportedly working on an anonymous social networking app
Facebook probably is probably the last place many would expect to find any sort of anonymity, but we suppose it’s never too late to try something new. Where Facebook was once seen as merely another “social network,” they’ve quickly grown into a sort of pseudo online DMV, authenticating normally anonymous online denizens by giving everyone on the planet a unique online identity. But with your mom, grandma, and church members all part of the same social circles, it’s a return to anonymity that’s seeing users flock to services like Secret, Whisper, or Yik Yak where you can be — or say — whatever the like, without fear of judgement.
Today a new report out of The New York Times suggests Facebook could be looking to take a stab at anonymous social networking with a new app launching sometime in the future. Led by Facebook product manager Josh Miller, it appears they’re still working out the kinks, but the general idea is to have Facebook users discuss topics they may not want people associating with their real identities by allowing them to select whatever user name they’d like.
Of course, there’s still a lot of questions left wide open, like how — if at all — Facebook plans on integrating this with, well, Facebook and other fine details like will anonymous picture sharing be included? Will the app be similar to a messaging app, or another social message board? Of course, where there are anonymous users, spammers come in droves, so it will be interesting to see how this will be handled as well.
Again, the idea is certainly enticing. As someone who frequents Twitter, I’ve oft wondered why there wasn’t simply an anonymous Tweet option to hide your identity from others, while still being able to say whatever the hell you’d like. If anyone from Twitter is listening, there’s you next multimillion dollar idea.