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Facebook to Users: Sell Stuff, Get Paid

Posted Mar 13, 08 4:31 PM CDT in Technology,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Facebook has rolled out a new service that encourages users to recommend products to their friends and make a little money in the process, AP reports. Called Market Lodge, the program allows users to set up personal stores on their Facebook pages and hawk a variety of products from a chosen list. Merchants handle any sales, but users make a 10% commission on each.

Facebook boasts an impressive user population but has been struggling with ways to capitalize on it. The privacy backlash over a recent program named Beacon—which tracked users’ web activities for advertisers—turned into a public relations fiasco. Market Lodge developer bSocial is hoping a system in which friends recommend products to friends will feel less invasive. Facebook doesn't get a cut of the sales, at least for now.

Source Associated Press

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Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg speaks to press and advertising partners at a Facebook announcement in New York in this November 6, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, file)
The Facebook logo is displayed at a news conference in New York in this November 6, 2007, file photo.   (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, file)
Market Lodge is a Facebook application that pays users for sales made from their Facebook profiles.   (bSocial)
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