02/07/12
By Karen Moss
Facebook fans already use the networking site to 'like' brands but soon they may be able to 'want' products too. According to reports the tech giant is working on a 'want' button that will function in the same way as their popular 'like' button.
Developer Tom Waddington from Cut Out and Keep noticed the disabled 'want' button had been added to Facebook's existing list of social plugins. It could apparently be used by third-party developers, who can incorporate it into an existing platform such as an e-commerce site, or even a social platform that features products, such as the popular Pinterest.
The "want" button will reportedly work only on Open Graph objects labeled as "products" in order to help retailers.
This could prove to be a powerful commerce solution for the social networking company. Facebook would be able to build a database of shoppers' desires - a wishlist that could benefit third party developers.
Moreover, a product-focused button would greatly benefit advertisers, who could further target ads for Facebook users based on their "wants" for similar products.
"Currently, publishing want actions is disabled, though the button does render," Waddington wrote in a blog post. Facebook did not offer any details regarding the upcoming feature. "We're always testing new platform features, however we have nothing new to announce," said a company spokeswoman.
