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Facebook Apps Have Fans, Need Money

Companies figure out how to profit from widgets

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 18, 2008 10:32 AM CDT

(Newser) – Facebook widgets have been wildly popular, but they haven’t always been wildly profitable. “The fascinating thing about widgets is it turns out that distribution isn't really the challenge,” says the CEO of VideoEgg, the developer behind Scrabulous and Flixster. "The question is how do you monetize that attention?” VideoEgg and companies like it think they have the answer, BusinessWeek reports: advertising.

Advertisers plan to spend $1.4 billion for marketing on social networking sites. VideoEgg's execs say the company can claim $1.5 million of that, advertising both on its page and within applications. Other widgets, which let friends recommend books and movies to each other, link to Amazon for a percentage of the sale.

The facebook logo is reflected in an eyeball in this file photo. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

A girl browses Facebook in this photo illustration. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The Facebook applications sidebar is shown in this file photo. (Getty Images)

This file photo shows "Scrabulous," one of Facebook's most popular widgets. Its creator, VideoEgg, has a plan to extract $1.5 million in ad revenue from its various Facebook applications. (Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images)

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

social networking • Facebook • Internet advertising • Scrabulous

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

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More Newser Stories

Ad Campaign Takes Death Panel Fight to Facebook

Targets Palin fans; 'tell her to stop lying'

Networks Social Indeed, But Ad Dollars Remain Elusive

MySpace's marketing-friendly makeover part of sites' evolving drive to cash in

Sellers, Fans at Odds Over Scrabulous

Companies debate legal action as 700K play online knock-off daily

Advertisers Lukewarm on Social Sites

Networking, video-sharing users not prime marketing targets

Google Ads Backfire on Social Site in Brazil

Ads placed near offensive material set off controversy

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