Facebook developer Tom Waddington has stumbled on a Want button in the latest Facebook SDK. As you know the Like button has been a universal hit, and it is clear that a Want button could generate data that would make a lot of advertisers and marketing agencies drool (and pay) over. Facebook’s intentions are even more clear as the new Want button seems to work only on objects described as “products” to the API.
It will be interesting to see how this will play out, and more importantly if the data is actually useful for business purposes. For example, someone may “want” a Ferrari or a trip to space, but this does not necessarily means that they can realistically afford it. Things like “dream homes” would get similar hits. That said, there is a fair chance that some data could be actually useful for brands and retailers.
If that’s the case, this may be one of the new revenue streams that Facebook needs to create in order to justify its very high stock market valuation. Discerning which “want” is useful and which is not may ultimately be the responsibility of those who buy/access the data. In the meantime, Facebook has already done the hard part : gather close to a Billion users.
What do you think of the idea of a “want” button, and would you like businesses to know what you… want?
Filed in . Read more about Facebook.