Zuck’s sister leaves Facebook to start new venture

Mark Zuckerberg’s big sister Randi, who also happens to be Facebook’s marketing director, is leaving her brother’s company after a six-year tenure.

She handed in her resignation letter yesterday, as reported by All Things Digital. The 29-year-old exec later tweeted about her exit from the world’s largest social network, which now claims 750 million users worldwide.

Facebook confirmed Randi was moving on and said she planned to start her own company.

“It is with mixed emotions that I announced my departure from Facebook today to launch my own initiative,” she said on Twitter.

Before later adding: “Thanks everyone for the incredible outpouring of support and enthusiasm for my next adventure. So grateful. More info coming shortly!”

In her missive to her Facebook bosses, COO Sheryl Sandberg and communications chief Elliot Schrage, Randi explained her motives for moving on:

“My goal is to launch my own innovative programming and work with media companies to develop their programming in new, and more social ways. In attacking this challenge, Facebook will clearly be a central element in all of my projects. I plan to demonstrate that ANYONE can do groundbreaking media work on the platform. And to the extent it makes sense for you, I’d be happy to advise Facebook on media projects, ‘Facebook Live’ or other initiatives if it is desired.”

Randi’s new company is called RtoZMedia, which already has its own website offering a teaser landing page that reveals very little about her the planned venture. But she’s clearly aiming to build a marketing powerhouse in Silicon Valley aimed at social media companies. As noted by All Things Dig, it’s unlikely, however, that Google+ will end up on her client list.

Of course, Sesame Street fans, there’s no letter G between R and Z…

“As I end this chapter of my career, know that I leave with a deep love for Facebook and I value the experiences I have had here immensely. Be assured I will continue to be a strong, vocal evangelist for the most incredible social platform ever created,” she said.

“I am thankful for the strong mentorship, guidance, and support, which is empowering me to follow my dreams and show that you don’t have to be an engineer to be a hacker.” ®

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Facebook Explores Changes to News Feed

BY SHAYNDI RAICE AND EMILY STEEL

In moves that would change how consumers, developers and marketers use Facebook Inc., the social network is exploring an expansion of the information users see on its home page.

The changes are designed to address some of the biggest frustrations by third-party developers and marketers on Facebook: standing out in the News Feed. The News Feed is a stream of information that users see on Facebook’s home page; the information is currently filtered by the social network.

While advertisers have created online campaigns with the intention that consumers would share their messages in the News Feed, Facebook’s algorithms don’t display …

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