Currently, when a Facebook user hovers on any thumbnail/link in the Books section of any Facebook profile information page, Facebook presents a layer like this
If you are Facebook user, ask yourself how many times you have updated your books section? I had not updated in over 3 years. A few months ago, Facebook started recommending books pages to me, and when I ‘liked’ them, Facebook automatically updated my Books section information page. Sweet.So, what is next?
Here is my idea for “Kindle for Facebook”; before we dive into the opportunities and challenges, let’s look at the use case first.
Pre Conditions :
- User has his/her Facebook Account linked with Amazon.
- User has set the required settings and has activated 1-Click buy option, in Amazon.
- User has given the necessary permissions to the “Kindle for Facebook” app in Facebook.
- User navigates to any Facebook profile, and browses a profile information page
- User hovers the mouse over the books link/thumbnail.
- If a Kindle version of the book is available, Facebook displays the layer like this
- User reads the chapter in the Kindle for Facebook app that has been seamlessly integrated into the presentation layer.
- User wishes to purchase the kindle book, and clicks the “Buy now with 1-Click” button.
- Kindle for Facebook app completes the necessary transaction in Amazon back end, and delivers the Kindle to user (as per his/her existing Kindle settings)
Users: Users read about their friends interests in books but they actually never get an immediate opportunity to check out what those books are all about. This app will provide a tool for users to immediately check out what their friends read and recommended, and if that book is compelling, then have an option to immediately buy a kindle version.
Amazon: One of Amazon’s goals for Kindle for the web app is to allow any user to embed a link for Kindle book and become an affiliate. This app will virtually create an army of Amazon affiliates, and has the potential to generate a lot of traffic. Also, currently, an Amazon user has to follow a long winding navigational path inside Amazon your account page, to do anything related with shopping using recommendations using Amazon and Facebook integration. This app can serve as a turning point for greater integration of Facebook and Amazon, at the doorstep of the user. Virtually, any Facebook user can become a Kindle affiliate.
Facebook: Facebook can get revenues out of this lead generation business; Amazon and Facebook could come to some revenue sharing agreement. For Amazon, the risk free revenue share is a simple CPA model in which Facebook will get a revenue share for every successful purchase by a user. For Facebook, the risk free revenue is a CPM model in which Amazon pays for impressions(views of the Kindle book) by users. And then, there are several solutions in between this wide spectrum. But whatever the revenue share might look like, I feel that having a Kindle for Facebook could be a win-win model.
Opportunities for the Kindle for Facebook app.
- This app could be the Trojan horse for getting more users to connect their Facebook account to Amazon.
- Amazon physically sells goods only in 6 countries, but Kindle books can be purchased by any one virtually from anywhere in the world. So connecting Facebook will help Amazon gain customers instantly from new countries where they don’t have any physical presence.
- Facebook, with all their social graph and Facebook connect, is still looking for ways to expand revenues streams. “Kindle for Facebook” app will generate revenues. Also, if this model works, then Facebook can streamline the processes for new products such as “Amazon for Facebook” App, using which any user can buy any of product their friends like using this app, right from inside Facebook.
- If explicit user permissions are needed for sharing information between Amazon and Facebook, users can be incentivized to provide them, and one of the incentives could be a revenue share of a small percentage, and can be given with Amazon credits or Facebook credits that they can use it to purchase other goods in Amazon or Facebook or sites that accept Facebook credits such as gaming sites. Such a revenue share with users will also incentivize users to constantly keep their profile updated, and like/recommend the products they like.
- I am sure there will be a number of technical challenges, which is out of scope of this article; but I am very confident that these will be the easiest ones to solve.
- Working out a revenue share business model will be a challenge. Can Amazon short Facebook by developing the app that can be installed by users themselves, an app that has no technical integration with Facebook beyond what the current Facebook APIs provide? These options need to be explored, but I guess, Facebook is unlikely to allow an app that gives Amazon a free lunch.
- Understanding the impact of such a user generated ecommerce in Facebook profiles, on the overall User Experience would be important. What will be the impact on Facebook user experience, if eventually, when a user visits any Facebook profile, he/she encounters several links to third party ecommerce sites such as Amazon. Will Facebook users like it? Will they visit their friends profile who keep posting such links, especially if they know that their friends are likely to earn some cash if they purchase the kindle book? So the challenge is not only to keep these ecommerce apps seamlessly integrated into user experience, but also understand the impact on the social capital of users who turn into Kindle affiliates in Facebook. Extensive A/B testing must be done to understand these implications. At the end of the day, Facebook must not lose its USP as a “cool place to hang out with their friends online”.
- For Amazon, the challenge will be providing a seamless purchase experience and account integration for existing customers, and an easy path for new customers to register as Amazon customers and buy the kindle book with minimal disruption to their Facebook experience.
