14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook has indeed been working on something special, but unlike some reports indicate, it’s not just about anonymity.
A recent report from the New York Times indicates that Facebook has been working on a standalone mobile app which allows users to interact without using their real names, which is, of course, the exact opposite of how Facebook works.
The publication quoted several people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the project is still in the works and, therefore, under wraps. Even so, they said that the app could be released sometime in the coming weeks.
Josh Miller, Facebook engineer, has been tweeting quite a bit following the report. He states that identity isn’t a product goal and that developers should focus on what human desire they want to enable, not make anonymity the focal point.
“Even then, it’s very hard to build retentive communities without ‘regulars’ you need some sort of recurring identity,” Miller wrote. He states that it’s worth noting that the Internet was the original pseudonym experiment as all new apps are rip-offs of IRC, forums and so on.
Basically, he’s suggesting that Facebook hasn’t been busy building just a simple clone off of anonymity apps that are already out there, but a more complex program different than what we’ve seen before. Whether that will be true in the end remains to be seen, but at this point, it all sounds like we’ve heard it before.
Facebook anonymity sounds impossible
It’s interesting to see that Facebook is going to put its money on the anonymity card considering how much noise it’s been making about people using their real identities on the platform. The whole scandal that took place just weeks ago regarding people from the LGBT community getting forced to use their real names rather than their stage names or the ones they’re most comfortable with, came as a hit to Facebook.
The company decided to make it clearer in its policy that people should use the names they are comfortable with, but Facebook sees itself walking a thin line because this also opens up the door for impersonation and identity theft.
Regarding the brand new app, the company said it would not comment on the rumors and speculations, but it looks like Josh Miller couldn’t really hold it in anymore. Hopefully, this one won’t be another miss for the social network giant especially since it had quite a few of those.
4/ Anonymous Apps: Finally, worth noting, the internet was the original pseudonym experiment. New apps are all ripoffs of IRC, forums, etc.
— Josh Miller (@joshm) October 8, 2014