Last week Facebook and MySpace both announced that they will be allowing users to transplant information to other web sites. This will allow users to share pictures, applications, and information much easier with their friends and family on different web sites.
For both companies, this move towards decentralization is a bold step away from the previously “walled garden” approach to their sites. While this type of site has been appealing to advertisers in the past, Facebook is hoping that the move will make them even more powerful by becoming a “command center” for social interaction across the web, thereby increasing their marketing appeal.
For advertisers, broadcasting their message through a wider range of social media sites may now become more of a necessity. In fact, simply having a presence in social media will become more of a requirement than a nice-to-have.
This move by Facebook and MySpace is pushing the online community towards an even more decentralized, user-driven atmosphere, and only the advertisers that are willing to keep up the pace will truly reap the benefits.
Parts of this article were derived from http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OPEN_FACEBOOK
