Facebook's Future Billions: The Platform has to Die
Unfortunately, the revenue streams outlined in the Wired article seem decidedly... stale. Daily deals ("Facebook Offers"), Sponsored Stories, "Karma" (virtual gifts), and sponsored App recommendations. Facebook’s ability to monetize a billion users seems a bit underwhelming.
Here’s what I think is happening: Facebook is selling itself short by trying to be nothing more than "the platform." This largely limits Facebook's revenue possibilities to advertising – as per the Wired article, and talk of funnels.
My premise is that instead, Facebook should be focused on what it is people want to buy in a social setting, and providing the best possible experience to do so.
One example of such thinking would be tickets to events. Events are a product that is consumed socially: When I go to a show, I do so with a group of friends. It would be pretty compelling if we could all buy our seats together (and next to each other!) with one click through Facebook, find out who else we know is going, walk into the venue with our phones as our tickets, and then share our photos/posts/etc of the event on Facebook in an "event timeline."
A really killer ticketing experience would be a perfect way to leverage the FB social platform and deliver a tonne of value to all of the stakeholders.
Facebook as a platform certainly works (see: Zynga), but I can't help but think that Facebook should be taking on certain transactions - like event tickets - themselves. Today, the Facebook way is to be hands off: Facebook provides the social platform and advertising venue, Ticketmaster builds a ticket purchasing app on top of it. Facebook loses out on the margin, and Facebook users get a sub-par experience (or have to leave the site entirely).
Thoughts?