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Does Facebook really drive that kind of commerce? Micropayments on Facebook games is one thing, but I remember a time when you could buy little badges and icons for your friends to place on their wall. That didn't last too long.

Not to mention the hum drum partners FB is pairing with. Olive Garden? Really? Facebook's new monetization strategy is to do what the checkout lane at my local supermarket has been doing for years.

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> Facebook's new monetization strategy is to do what the checkout lane at my local supermarket has been doing for years.

If you put it that way Google’s monetization strategy is what Yellow Pages has been doing for decades. Does’t seem to be working that bad so far.

I think it's more than that. Not too long ago, Facebook acquired Karma (http://getkarma.com), which had quickly become one of my favorite services because they made gift-giving into a fun and dead-simple process. In fact, it was addictive - I remember sending at least three gifts within the first two weeks of downloading Karma on my iPhone. And since Karma was already built on top of Facebook's social graph, the acquisition made perfect sense and enhanced the overall experience even more for its small but loyal users. I think introducing a gift card was the next logical step to bring it to the mainstream.

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