In two weeks, the Facebook Gift Shop will be closing its virtual doors; a move that has some relieved, some surprised, and others excited. Many are relieved that they won’t be pestered with virtual (read: fake) gifts that Facebook suggests users purchase for their friends and which clutter everyone’s profiles. The move is also a bit surprising for a number of reasons, namely that the Gift Shop has virtually no overhead costs and is considered a $100 million revenue driver for Facebook.

Also, at the f8 Developer Conference a few months back, Facebook was expected to make a big announcement about the evolution of their Credits system, which not only didn’t happen, but they then turned around and signed a huge 5 year deal with Zynga, the popular gaming application network, which lead some to believe that Facebook was turning away from a redesigned Credit system and focusing on other functionality.

Now that we see that Facebook is committed to the evolution of their Credits, we’ll be getting a much richer experience. Businesses won’t be worried about creating branded gifts that will go largely unnoticed by users, but will instead focus on developing immersive and engaging campaigns within the apps of their Facebook pages. Facebook’s recent acquisition of nextstop, a mobile location service, may also play a hand in the new Credits system, as more users, developers, and brands begin to invest in richer mobile experiences.

Tags: facebook, facebook credits, facebook gift shop, nextstop, virtual gifts, zynga

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Posted in social networks by Jed No Comments Yet