Facebook launch, Facebook Gifts. Buy a friend chocolates or a Teddy Bear with Facebook! A brand loses its way for short term money.

Facebook is really trying to raise its revenue.

If you're on Facebook, you know they'll alert you to your friends Birthdays so that you might wish them a happy day. Now with Facebook Gifts, you'll be able to buy them a gift straight from the page! (And Facebook will get a cut).

It will also include other event alerts - new job, anniversary, weddings, baby born and so on. Their focus is of course, on mobile, as they try many ways to monetise their mobile activity. Crass and cheap? I think so.

They'll also sell you digital cards, chocolates, teddy bears and have developed 100 retail partners. They include Starbucks ("give a gift of a free latte!" Jesus...), which itself has started selling newspapers in store thereby losing its coolness and Facebook Gifts are bound to affect sales on the likes of Amazon or Ebay. The person on Facebook who gets a gift will know straight away that it's on the way too.

It also means Facebook get more data (like credit cards) which they can use elsewhere and it will generate good margin in a gift business that's estimated at about 40 billion usd in the USA alone.

BUT - I do think there's a balance between brand values and revenue. As I've said, I think Starbucks are walking that line badly and I think Facebook now, is doing the same. Short term gain, long term loss.

It's making Facebook look less like a free, honest Social Media and more like a shop. Is this what happens when you lose your soul after an IPO? When financial pressures override brand values? And corporate accountants take over? It's an OMG moment.

Already it's becoming a bit uncool.
This will make it colder.