Facebook launches "Social Ads”
Posted by Evan Fell on November 8, 2007 at 10:14 AM
Facebook.com has launched their new ad sales that display profile pictures next to commercial messages shown to friends about items that a user has purchased or wants to share with friends.
If a Facebook user goes on a website which is partnered with Facebook.com, they will be asked after they make a purchase if they would like their purchase to be broadcast out to all of their Facebook friends. This is done through a new feature, which is called Beacon.
In order to participate in what Facebook.com is calling “social advertising,” the advertisers set up their own profile page on Facebook at no charge. The profile page functions in the same way as other facebook users pages. So far 60 advertisers have signed on for the new ad system and 100,000 new profiles have been added to the site.
Among these partners is The New York Times Company. Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of NYTimes.com said, “Our arrangement with Facebook gives us the opportunity to distribute NYTimes.com content to a very engaged readership and a viral distribution platform."
Users can sign on to The New York Times profile page and enjoy features such as top news and The New York Times News Quiz. They can also share the information with their friends, either from the profile page on facebook or from NYTimes.com through the Beacon feature.
As of now, NYTimes.com and some of the Times Company’s Regional Group properties are participating in the Beacon program.
The only worry that some people have as of now is privacy, feeling that too much about the online lives of people is being disclosed. However, Facebook assures that they are only using information that a user chooses to share, a system that is applauded by privacy experts.
Mark Zuckerberg, chief of executive of Facebook is excited about the new program and feels it will be a success because as he says, “nothing influences a person more than a recommendation from a trusted friend.”
Source: The New York Times (here and here)
For more information visit our partner site, The SFN Blog
In order to participate in what Facebook.com is calling “social advertising,” the advertisers set up their own profile page on Facebook at no charge. The profile page functions in the same way as other facebook users pages. So far 60 advertisers have signed on for the new ad system and 100,000 new profiles have been added to the site.
Among these partners is The New York Times Company. Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of NYTimes.com said, “Our arrangement with Facebook gives us the opportunity to distribute NYTimes.com content to a very engaged readership and a viral distribution platform."
Users can sign on to The New York Times profile page and enjoy features such as top news and The New York Times News Quiz. They can also share the information with their friends, either from the profile page on facebook or from NYTimes.com through the Beacon feature.
As of now, NYTimes.com and some of the Times Company’s Regional Group properties are participating in the Beacon program.
The only worry that some people have as of now is privacy, feeling that too much about the online lives of people is being disclosed. However, Facebook assures that they are only using information that a user chooses to share, a system that is applauded by privacy experts.
Mark Zuckerberg, chief of executive of Facebook is excited about the new program and feels it will be a success because as he says, “nothing influences a person more than a recommendation from a trusted friend.”
Source: The New York Times (here and here)
For more information visit our partner site, The SFN Blog
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