T-Minus 1: Facebook’s Announcement Tomorrow

With all the big announcements coming out today, I’m sure your head’s already spinning—but be sure to keep your eyes open for tomorrow’s Facebook announcement! Amid all the other buzz today, there are plenty of rumors flying about what Facebook’s big secret will be.

According to TechCrunch last week, at least part of the announcement will be “Project Beacon“: an effort to better integrate Facebook profiles with nonFacebook websites. In Michael Arrington’s example, a Facebook user purchases a product (like a book) from a partner site (Amazon, in this example). The purchase appears as a popup in a user’s mini-feed—which, like other items in their feed, they’ll be able to delete and turn off.

The other theory, which could easily be integrated with Project Beacon, is that Facebook is going to put to use its (already) trademarked term “SocialAds.” Valleywag has a mockup of what a SocialAd might look like, based on Facebook’s description (originally from Allfacebook).

The SocialAd’s content is based on information from your profile—your interests, your favorite movies and books, events you’re attending and your demographic information. Valleywag also envisions that clicking on a SocialAd will act like any other action on Facebook—being featured on your mini-feed and your friends’ news feeds.

What do you think? Would an announcement on either (or both) of these lines revolutionize the way marketers regard—and use—social networks?

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