Speculation rife ahead of Facebook's mystery announcement

A magnifying glass is posed over a monitor displaying
 a Facebook page in Munich.

Facebook is taking a page from the marketing gurus at Apple, inviting bloggers and journalists to a mystery event Tuesday to "come see what we're building."

The event, to be held at the social media giant's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., is scheduled for 10 a.m. local time (1 p.m. ET).

Though there has been plenty of speculation, no one knows for sure just what Facebook plans to unveil, and whether it will be a ready-to-go tangible product, a software development or something still in progress, as the invitation suggests.

Some analysts have speculated that CEO Mark Zuckerberg will reverse an earlier stance and announce Facebook is entering the smartphone market, launching a handheld device designed specifically to optimize the mobile Facebook experience.

But that would be at odds with comments made last fall, when Zuckerberg said a Facebook phone "is so clearly the wrong strategy for us."

Others have suggested that Facebook could be entering the hardware business by another door -- perhaps a tablet designed specifically for Facebook.

It's also possible that the company will announce another overhaul to the way its one billion users' news feeds appear, the monetization of messaging, a better mobile-advertising model or search updates; speculation abounds about what exactly the announcement will include.

And that speculation was having a mostly-positive impact Tuesday. The company's shares were on the rise throughout the morning, reaching a peak of US$31.71 per share -- the highest the stock has climbed since Facebook's disappointing initial public offering in May. While the stock debuted at $38 per share, it quickly slipped to around the $30 mark, and hasn't yet returned to its initial valuation.

One thing analysts appear to agree on is that it's unlikely Zuckerberg plans to announce the construction of an actual brick-and-mortar building, despite the wording of the invitation. In August, the company announced famed architect Frank Gehry -- who also designed Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario -- will design an engineering office to house more than 3,000 employees at the Menlo Park campus.

source  ctvnews.ca