Facebook to Roll Out a News Reader in June 20 Event?
A Facebook invitation to a June 20 press event has led to speculations that the most popular social networking site would roll out a news reader, possibly based on trending articles on Facebook or more of an RSS reader-style product.
The invitation reads: "A small team has been working on a big idea. Join us for coffee and learn about a new product."
TechCrunch believes the new product could take advantage of Facebook large database on what FB members share to identifying popular and recommended news articles personally suggested by FB members.
What is intriguing about the event is the Facebook did not tap to issue the invitations but instead sent it via regular post when a tech company would normally just use email to invite media to events. The coffee stain is another indicator of a news-oriented product since the hot drink is a favourite item of people who read dailies.
Facebook just introduced the hashtag, which the social networking site considers the first step for people to discover what others are saying about a specific topic or participate in public conversation.
The reader, speculated to be similar to an RSS reader, is seen as FB's own version of the Google Reader that will soon be phased out.