Developer Tom Waddington of Cut Out + Keep was searching through Facebook code this past week when he discovered a new commerce system that will employ a Facebook “Want” button.
The new product is believed to allow customers to create their very own “virtual wish lists” which can than be shared on Facebook. The program will also allow users to share product purchases with Facebook followers, suggest charitable donations (and share them) and even showcase purchases made within Facebook games.
Speaking to Mashable Waddington declared:
“The fact the code contains references to ‘socialcommerce’ is a sign that they’re taking it seriously. In the same way music, news and videos are shared on the site, Facebook is planning to allow users to share both Wants and Purchases, from items bought within games to donations.”
The idea seems simple, by sharing e-commerce solutions Facebook can help virtual and tangible real-world goods go viral while at the same time eventually implementing affiliate links to earn cold hard cash.
Waddington continues:
“Considering the huge impact Facebook music has had on Spotify and news integration for sites such as Yahoo, social shopping seems to be the next focus. The important distinction is that these aren’t custom integrations — they will be sanctioned and controlled by Facebook, which means they will get the premium placements, similar to the ‘Trending Articles’ unit.”
On his personal blog the developer says he discovered the “Want” button code in a piece of disabled Javascript which you can check out here:
Will you be taking advantage of the Facebook “Want” button when it rolls out to all your favorite online purchase websites?
