As Facebook stock prices plummeted to nearly half of their IPO values, the social media giant is exploring new ways to earn revenue from business pages, not simply through individual advertisements. And to give business pages more value, Facebook has started testing two new buttons: “want” and “collect”.
People love to share items they want, but often cannot buy for a host of reasons. With the two new buttons, Facebook users can not only share what they’re hoping to buy soon, but also make a photo album of new items they’re interested in. Similar to the way Pinterest users take advantage of pinboards titled “Dream Wardrobe” or “Holiday Gift Ideas”. This creates a lot of usable data for clients, helps large stores reach small markets, and also helps users stay in touch with what their friends are looking for when birthdays come around.
So how is the public reacting? The Huffington Post thinks the new buttons are no more than a gift registry. Lifehacker points out that the new tool is similar to programs that have been on the web for years now. And even though the feature is still being tested on a handful of pages, code analysts have already uploaded ways to use the button, as the feature was written into the site in July, long before Facebook announced it.
While it’s great to see such an interactive site offer yet another fantastic feature to the public free of charge, new buttons will not necessarily solve Facebook’s revenue problems. A new, functioning revenue model is the only thing that can make the site profitable. And the reason Facebook’s stock price has fallen so precipitously is because investors know the site is losing money and has no clear plan on how to become profitable in its own right. If this new feature integrates well with Facebook marketplace, it will be extremely valuable. If not, a new button will not be enough to save the networking giant.