Facebook announced the details of its new advertising program at an invitation-only session in New York today.
Advertisers will now be allowed to create their own profile on Facebook, and users will be able to call themselves fans of a product. When users become fans, their news feeds are updated with "(user name) is now a fan of (product name)." They become "trusted referrals."
According to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg, "Nothing influences a person more than the recommendation of a trusted friend."
Advertisers agree. Advertisers will be allowed to buy advertising and pair it with the news feed posts, as well as subsequent banner advertising targeted at friends with the user's photo and recommendation attached to it. Participating advertisers include Coca-Cola, Blockbuster, Verizon, Travelocity, and Condé Nast.
If people buy into this, advertisers and Facebook could stand to make truckloads of money. But wait a minute, advertisers make money because I recommend their products to my friends who then buy the products, and Facebook makes money because advertisers are paying for ads with my recommendation and picture on it. And I don't make money because I'm addicted to Facebook. I see how this works.
But what if nobody recommends products? Nah, in this consumer-driven society? That could never happen. Could it?
