此前Facebook的收入基本上都来自于广告收入，但毫无疑问该公司已开始重视虚拟商品这一潜在盈利领域。在最近出版的《The Facebook Effect》（facebook的影响力）一书中，Facebook的运营总监Sheryl Sandege对虚拟商品这一新型收入来源的重要性发表了一些有趣的评论。该书的作者即《财富》杂志的高级科技编辑David Kirkpatrick深入研究了Facebook公司与及疾速的发展历程。（这和即将上映的被小说化的facebook版电影the social netword并不一致）

Facebook Credits

据Kirkpatrick说，Sandberg“相信虚拟商品及网站货币的销售经营将最终占Facebook收入的20%到30%。”（这也是首次由该公司的现任成员对虚拟交易的营收预期进行评述）这与Facebook前任董事长Sean Parker在5月的某个演讲不谋而合：本公司的“网站货币”—Facebook Credits将在接下来的12个月中占公司总收入的三分之一。（Parker在2006年离开了该公司，尽管他仍然是Facebook的主要股东之一，并与该公司保持着密切工作联系。）

Sandberg的估计则比较保守，20%到30%，并且她没有强调12个月的时间期限，而只是含糊地表示虚拟商品的销售将“最终”达到该百分比。不过，这一切都说明了虚拟商品交易的流行趋势，并且将成为Facebook接下来几年发展的重要领域。

请注意，我们并不是说Facebook本身销售虚拟商品，实际上，该公司已经于这个月初关闭了虚拟礼品商店。取而代之的是，该公司正致力于发展通用虚拟货币Credits，该货币用于可在Facebook的的第三方游戏及应用程序中购买虚拟商品。Facebook将获得30%的Credits收益，而程序开发商则获得余下的70%。

据Inside Book称，该公司计划今年盈利10亿美元，如果Credits真能达到总收入的30%，即它将代表3亿美元。

如果想在不久的将来占总收入的20%到30%，Facebook Credits就几乎需要运用于每一款的社交游戏。但这个目标也并非遥不可及。在过去的几个月，大部分的社交游戏开发公司愿意同Facebook合作，并使用Crdits，如Zynga, Crowdstar和Playfish。Facebook Credits很有可能成为未来社交网络上最为盛行的一款虚拟货币。

Facebook has been making nearly all of its revenues from advertising, but it’s no secret that the company views virtual goods as a potentially lucrative area. In the recently published book The Facebook Effect, Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg makes some interesting comments about the importance of virtual goods as a new and growing source of income. The book, written by Fortune senior technology writer David Kirkpatrick, gives an inside look into the company and its meteoric rise (and is not to be confused with that other fictionalized Facebook novel that the upcoming movie, The Social Network, is based on).

According to Kirkpatrick, Sandberg “believes that ultimately 20-30 percent of Facebook’s revenues will come through the sale of virtual goods or the operation of an on-site currency.” This is in line with what former Facebook president Sean Parker said at an event in May: that Facebook Credits, the company’s “on-site currency,” will make up one-third of its total income in the next 12 months. But it’s the first time I’ve heard the company itself give an estimate. (Parker left the company in 2006, though he’s still a major shareholder and works closely with the company.)

Sandberg’s estimate is more conservative, 20-30%. And she doesn’t specify the 12-month timeframe, but only says vaguely that virtual goods sales will “ultimately” hit that percentage. But it’s still indicative of how hot virtual goods are and that it’s one big area where Facebook expects to see growth in the next year or two.

It’s important to note that we’re not talking Facebook itself selling virtual goods anymore. The company closed its virtual gift store at the beginning of this month. Instead, the company is now focused on growing Credits, its universal virtual currency that can be used to purchase virtual goods in third-party Facebook games and apps. Facebook takes a 30% cut of Credits spent, leaving the app developers the rest.

To give a sense of Sandberg’s estimate in current figures: according to Inside Facebook, the company is on track to make more than $1 billion in revenue this year. If Credits already made up 30% of total revenue, hypothetically, it would represent a more than $300 million slice. That would be pretty impressive, considering that Facebook made around $30 million in virtual goods sales in 2009, according to Kirkpatrick, and that the whole social gaming category in the U.S. in 2010 is expected to see $835 million in virtual goods sales, according to Inside Facebook.

For Facebook to hit the 20-30% mark in the near future, Credits would have to be on nearly every social game. That isn’t so far-fetched. In the past few months, most of the major social games developers have partnered with Facebook to use Credits, like Zynga, Crowdstar and Playfish. It’s looking more and more likely that Credits will become the one virtual currency on the social network in the future.（source：forbes）