Recent news you may have missed, but shouldn’t overlook. The business side of social media is starting to come into focus.
The Business Insider is reporting that Facebook is alpha testing a payment system to compete with Paypal and others. It’s a game changer if they can pull it off and connect the dots from ad to product to purchase all without leaving Facebook. Once the company clears some security hurdles you’ll be able to use Facebook credits to buy from third-party developers already familiar with system integration. Facebook gets a tiny slice to bolster is advertising revenue model. It’ll work. Zynga, a Facebook game maker, made about $100 million selling virtual goods on Facebook. The folks at Facebook didn’t see a dime of that revenue, but it looks like they will.
I’d hate to be a reporter on the New York Times payroll this morning. Thomson Reuters big wigs seem a little worried that Twitter may uproot some of its readers. How did the suits respond? “Why does The New York Times need to have 600-700 journalists? Why not 30 journalists with 30 apprentices? Does The New York Times do a good job covering sports? So-so. Do they do a good job covering business? No.” said Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer. Ouch! We know that Twitter is growing at a fever pitch (1,000%), but the New York Times at a respectable 22%. Both seem to struggle with a revenue model that sticks. What next? Also keep this in mind as you talk about your newspaper media buy. These people spend money!
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