Sandy claims Facebook events as latest hurricane cancellations
The social networking giant has scotched a couple of events -- including one for Facebook Gifts -- scheduled this week because of the hurricane.
This time it's Facebook calling off a couple of get-togethers it had scheduled for this week in New York.
The social networking giant was holding an open house Tuesday at its New York office to give reporters the chance to chat with some of its engineers. The company notified the press that it canceled the event because of the storm.
It also has postponed a "Facebook Gifts" event scheduled for Thursdayat New York's famed toy store, FAO Schwartz.
While Facebook provided few details about Thursday's event, it was expected to give information about retailer partnerships for its Gifts service, whichwent live last month. The service allows Facebook users to give each other physical gifts by sending them through the social network.Meanwhile, another Facebook stock "lockup" was scheduled to expire today, allowing many more employees the opportunity to sell their shares. Instead, the stock exchanges in New York were closed due to the hurricane, preventing Facebook employees from shedding their holdings, if they so desired. The closure is the first unscheduled, market-wide shutdown since September 2001, according to The Wall Street Journal, and markets may remain closed Tuesday.
Other New York events waylaid by Sandy include Google's Nexus launch and AllThingD's mobile conference.
The hurricane, barreling toward the Mid-Atlantic region today, forced the closure of New York's public transportation and other services. Residents have been urged to remain inside.