Web Currencies: Facebook Tests Sponsoring of Credits

Facebook is further experimenting with their in-house currency, Facebook Credits. Facebook Inside describes how brands can issue credits attached to their (virtual) products ("Interesting: Facebook Now Testing Virtual Currency Gifting Program With Branded Virtual Gifts"). By doing so, Facebook is implicitly testing their ability to connect Facebook Credits with sponsors:

"By this point, it’s clear that Facebook has broader ambitions for its virtual currency than simply directly selling items from the Facebook Gifts store.

The company is hoping to broaden the utility of its currency by more deeply integrating it into the social actions already happening on the site. For example, rewarding a status update or interesting photo."

This seems to be in line with Exciting Commerce’s earlier assumptions (German blog).

What is MySpace doing in this area? According to VentureBeat’s analysis of MySpace’s activity with web currencies, much too little ("Priority for MySpace: Do something about this virtual currency plans").

Originally posted in German by Jochen Krisch, adapted for excitingcommerce.com by Jason Soo