Facebook More Than a Social Network

So you thought Facebook was just your link to communicating with your friends and family. Wrong. Facebook is now trying to be the center of the E-world and they are currently executing new plans for the future. If you haven't noticed by now many websites have been integrating the Facebook "Like" button, which provides online firms access to the "Open Graph" which is a collection of all the "likes" of each customer. Who would have thought we were so openly offering information from just a click of a button?  Facebook is now appearing to become a standard to personalize your web experience. Websites such as Yelp and Pandora are now able to easily identify you through the Open Graph system. Browsing through websites you will now notice at the bottom of most screens they provide you with the option to share the link, email it, and you'll identify the like button. This system will provide a shopper friendly experience since now your frequent websites will be able to provide you with items you might like based on your past preferences. The Open Graph system is very similar to the systems most companies have recently been using to track your web searches and visits. However, this new system provides more insight on a variety of topics such as movies, music, companies, food, etc.

With so many followers increasing the popularity of Facebook it seems as though companies such as Google and Myspace will have a run for their money. Another new upcoming feature which is creating worries for Paypal is Facebook Credits. Now Facebook can attempt to facilitate payments for online shoppers without the use of providing credit card information. Currently the progress of this phenomenon has only been used with virtual goods and will eventually be used for regular purchases if successful. How did Facebook turn from a social network to ruling e-commerce? The vast success of this company has inspired it to take advantage of it's influence on users to engage them in more growth opportunities for the company. We don't realize how dependent we have become on these social networks that now we have allowed them to take over most aspects of our daily lives. Privacy is a minimal concern for this company since users share the information they wish to. Forget getting to know someone, you learn more about them through their status updates, wall posts, pictures, user purchases and likes all via Facebook!

Referenced Websites:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10460201-36.html