Facebook Marketplace has undergone a few changes in the past few months or so, and in an effort to maintain prominence for users, the Facebook Marketplace is adding a new feature today as well. Called “Shout” the new feature aims to make the Facebook classifieds more social.
What a shout does is actually encourage users to share personal information about listings with their social graph on Facebook. Think of it as a comment that’s associated with the “share” capability for a given classifieds item within Facebook. You’ll actually see a prompt beneath the “share” option to Express Yourself, meaning that you’re adding your two cents for whatever classifieds item you in fact share with friends.
For example, if you come across a classifieds listing for a digital camera, your “shout” could be something like “has anyone tried this brand?” Or your “shout” could be something as simple as “say cheese!”
Of course, a nice thread of comments could ensue within a given social graph as a result of a single “shout,” which is exactly what Facebook and Marketplace partner Oodle is looking for from the new feature. Creating conversation around a classifieds item means that the ad is being spread organically throughout Facebook and can garner a good amount of traction and attention (good, bad or otherwise) as a result.
The person or company behind that classifieds ad would be able to learn a bit from this type of behavior to a certain extent, seeing what others are saying in regards to their ad. They might also appreciate the increased page views and passive recommendations which act on a social graph in a rather direct sense within Facebook.
Seeing as Oodle is the company behind Facebook’s Marketplace, the new “shout” feature comes as no surprise. Oodle has added several social and other recommendation-based features to its own classifieds service over the years, making research easier for those sifting through all the online ads. Layering in the “shout” option is yet another way in which to provide users with additional detail about a particular classifieds ad in a very personalized manner, while also offering Facebook and Oodle a wealth of information about the behavioral patterns of that ad.
It will be interesting to see how users react to the new “shout” feature. Anything too presumptuous could anger many Facebook users, as the default Marketplace bookmark did earlier this year. What do you think of the new feature?
I still dI still don't see this as a big money maker. If I want feedback, I can always post a link to a Craigslist or other posting and start the same discussion.
Comment by Andrew Breza — July 21, 2009 @ 4:40 am
Nice feature…but seriously, why people would do that on classifieds…or even ads? Facebook needs to cut the noise and bring the meaningful.
What would be meaningful to me would be i.e: What's the best choice for an apartment I could rent? (based on my interests, my preferred locations, budget, my peers recommendations, etc)…
Comment by agustindl — July 21, 2009 @ 7:47 am
i like the feature
Comment by Mark Mayhew — August 15, 2009 @ 9:59 am
The only thing I don’t like is there seems to be no option to sell items locally. I facebook with out-of-state friends and I’m certainly not going to ship my living room chair to them! Thus, when connecting with Oodle, facebook needs to give the choice of being able to Buy, Sell, or Donate items LOCALLY or Nationally. Why not? The Marketplace would truly be a great feature when connecting with Oodle then! Craigslist is on the way out; too much cyberterror (my word for Spammer-Scammer-Con artists.)
Comment by Citygirl Carrol — October 27, 2009 @ 11:41 am
mobile
Comment by Muhammad Farooq — February 15, 2010 @ 11:39 pm