Ever since a few years ago, the idea of Facebook has been continually EXPANDING. Facebook has recently taken their reign over social networking to the next level by introducing “credits,” this means that users are now being charged credits in order to purchase items for their favorite games. As an example, with credits, users can now purchase in-game items for Farmville. Facebook is expecting that this market is going to reach 835$ million this year, and have already started selling the Credit gift cards in stores around the United States.
Facebook eventually wants to be able to charge for other applications, such as music, videos, or even news articles.
This is just another way for Facebook to make money. They are trying to tap in to this market as other companies have successfully done (ex. Microsoft makes users pay to use the Xbox’s online feature, in order for gamers to get “more” out of the game). Even though it has no value in the real world, this marketing idea is going to make Facebook, and the game designers, millions.