Facebook pages set to replace websites?

01/12/2007

Whether you're a celebrity, a football club or a business, you now have the option of owning your definitive Facebook page instead of just setting up a presence as a personal profile page or a group. It is free and provides you with various applications such as polls and an integrated web and mobile platform. The advantage is that traffic is driven directly to these pages via personal recommendations by users who are fans of the pages as opposed to "friends". Advertisers will also benefit from behavioral targeting which will ensure that display ads are placed according to demographics and other personal data which users freely provide.

However, not all users appreciate these intrusions into their privacy. Last week, Facebook was forced to make changes to its Beacon scheme which alerts users in their newsfeed about transactions which their friends have made on partner sites. This followed a mass protest on web-based activist group, MoveOn.org. Meanwhile, the social media site continues to attract strong investment interest from all over the world. Last Friday, various industry sources reported that Hong Kong billionaire tycoon Li Ka-shing has invested US$60 million in the site.

 

 

New York Times report on Facebook Beacon
All Things Digital account on Li Ka-shing