

How To Monetize A Social Network: MySpace And Facebook Should Follow TenCent - rogercosseboom
http://abovethecrowd.com/2009/03/09/how-to-monetize-a-social-network-myspace-and-facebook-should-follow-tencent/

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sonpo
It would be tough to sell "digital items" for an avatar when it's an image of
a user. Both Facebook and Myspace allow you to choose whatever image you like,
but it's generally accepted that you select a portrait of yourself. I suppose
there are some ideas out there to "customize" your profile and that may work.

Games do seem to work, but no one buys them online when most are free - so
mobile seems to be the only way to make that happen. I agree with the comment
that it sounds like the iPhone App store. That technique is definitely
working, but there have to be better alternatives to monetize these sites.

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aaronblohowiak
Nope!

YoVille! PetSociety and more all make money selling virtual currency to buy
in-game objects. If transferring money from fb into an fb app were painless
and had cheap txn costs, two things would happen. 1) More people would spend!
Frictionless, and with the authority of Facebook, an integrated payment
solution would help separate people from their money and 2) a LOT more
developers would get in on the action.

PayMo charges 5% for cellphone txns, but the carriers charge up to 50%. That
is totally outrageous. Games are some of the biggest apps on Facebook, and
this would be a good way for facebook to make money, and encourage/help their
platform developers.

Disclaimer: These are my opinions and not those of my employer, FooMojo, Inc
(creators of FooPets on Facebook.)

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coglethorpe
TenCent's strategy sounds a lot like iPhone apps, only the company might make
more on a sale than Apple does.

