VentureBeat: Facebook launches social advertising — the details
Adam Benayoun
· 2 years ago
I’m sure Facebook will succeed in what they do. I have no doubt that whatever they’ll do to monetize their system, it will maybe upset a minority of the users but at this point it wont affect FB, since it’s viral.
So viral that the small percentage dumping FB will be replaced within days.
I think it's a smart move for FB. The have little to lose from this move, as users are not going to abandon the site in droves as a result. And, the upside in terms of revenues is astronomical. So, it seems to be the smart play to me.
In the short run, I do see potential for a significant backlash from the user base, similar to that sparked by the original NewsFeed. This is primarily due to the fact that many users are going to feel that this is an invasion of privacy. So, as a simple counter to that, I think a key component of Beacon has to be an opt-out option so that it will quell any user privacy concerns. However, as with NewsFeed, I think that the vast majority of users will not worry about the privacy implications...just so long as they know that the safety valve is available to them and they don't feel that they are at the mercy of Big Brother. Most will just continue to use the site carefree and this will benefit FB and its advertising partners in the long-run.
On a related note, it will be interesting to see FB enter this social ad/shopping sector and to see how far they go. I have followed this concept in action over at YUB.com and while that site is certainly struggling, I think the underlying concept is good and that FB has the user base to leverage some of these ideas successfully. More than just social friends, I think that the potential exists for users to find "shopping/purchasing friends" where they have similar tastes and can subscribe to an "online shopping feed" so that they can see what fashions, gadgets, etc. their friends are buying and see the reviews their friends give. The opinions and trends of what a user's friends buy is much stronger in terms of purchasing than a targeted ad. So, I think that Beacon has the opportunity to pave the way for this trend...and assuming they figure out the best way to monetize it, FB can start taking a huge chunk of revenue just by hosting the platform where users share buying trends and reviews.
Thanks for the article guys! This will be fun to follow.
-Noah
Ido
· 2 years ago
1. It seems like the best option that facebook has now... after Google starting to push in their direction. 2. Good article :) 3. I like that Disclosure: "...Doug Sherrets owns a small number of Facebook shares..." - how many? :)
All Comments
I have no doubt that whatever they’ll do to monetize their system, it will maybe upset a minority of the users but at this point it wont affect FB, since it’s viral.
So viral that the small percentage dumping FB will be replaced within days.
They’re headed to an IPO, no one can stop them.
www.octabox.com
I think it's a smart move for FB. The have little to lose from this move, as users are not going to abandon the site in droves as a result. And, the upside in terms of revenues is astronomical. So, it seems to be the smart play to me.
In the short run, I do see potential for a significant backlash from the user base, similar to that sparked by the original NewsFeed. This is primarily due to the fact that many users are going to feel that this is an invasion of privacy. So, as a simple counter to that, I think a key component of Beacon has to be an opt-out option so that it will quell any user privacy concerns. However, as with NewsFeed, I think that the vast majority of users will not worry about the privacy implications...just so long as they know that the safety valve is available to them and they don't feel that they are at the mercy of Big Brother. Most will just continue to use the site carefree and this will benefit FB and its advertising partners in the long-run.
On a related note, it will be interesting to see FB enter this social ad/shopping sector and to see how far they go. I have followed this concept in action over at YUB.com and while that site is certainly struggling, I think the underlying concept is good and that FB has the user base to leverage some of these ideas successfully. More than just social friends, I think that the potential exists for users to find "shopping/purchasing friends" where they have similar tastes and can subscribe to an "online shopping feed" so that they can see what fashions, gadgets, etc. their friends are buying and see the reviews their friends give. The opinions and trends of what a user's friends buy is much stronger in terms of purchasing than a targeted ad. So, I think that Beacon has the opportunity to pave the way for this trend...and assuming they figure out the best way to monetize it, FB can start taking a huge chunk of revenue just by hosting the platform where users share buying trends and reviews.
Thanks for the article guys! This will be fun to follow.
-Noah
2. Good article :)
3. I like that Disclosure: "...Doug Sherrets owns a small number of Facebook shares..." - how many? :)