That whirring sound you hear is the rumor mill kicking into high gear, probably splashing water everywhere (it is a mill) while it gets to spinning: Facebook has issued a mysterious invitation for the media to come hang out on its campus in Menlo Park, Calif. next Tuesday and of course, now everyone’s all abuzz as to what it is the social network has to share with us. Could it be a phone? A new superhero? A fancy haircut for Mark Zuckerberg?

 

It could be any number of things — maybe a fun new privacy policy! — but the Wall Street Journal is taking the phone angle,  citing reports that say Facebook had been in deep discussions with handset makers like HTC. Why talk to a phone manufacturer about designing phones unless you want to design a phone?

Zuckerberg has shot down those rumors in the past saying a phone is “so clearly the wrong strategy for us” but still, the buzz persists. If it did exist, it would probably run on an Android operating system because what’s the alternative? It’s not like Apple will let it run on iOS. That’s just for iPhones, after all.

Another option could be another iteration of its search function to perhaps compete with engines like Google or Yahoo!, as the current search is mostly just people looking to find friends like the guy that they went on one date with and never called. What is his deal, anyway? Answer that, Zuckerberg.

Guess we’ll find out on Tuesday. For now, the tongues will continue to wag.

Facebook Issues Mystery Press Invitation [Wall Street Journal]

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