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	<title>GigaOM &#187; retail partners</title>
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		<title>GigaOM &#187; retail partners</title>
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		<title>Facebook adds iTunes content to gifting platform</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/2012/11/26/facebook-adds-itunes-content-to-gifting-platform/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/2012/11/26/facebook-adds-itunes-content-to-gifting-platform/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:00:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eliza Kern</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook gifts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gift card]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[itunes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retail partners]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gigaom.com/?p=587904</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Looking to give your friend the perfect birthday gift, or want an easy way to give your kids a gift card for the holidays? Facebook announces Monday that it will be integrating iTunes gift cards and content into its digital gifts platform.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=587904&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Beginning Monday, Facebook will allow users to give their friends real-life gifts that are already popular during the holiday season: Apple&#8217;s iTunes gift cards and iTunes digital content. Facebook is adding iTunes content to its gifting platform, so users can pick out either a gift card or specific song, album or app to give a friend. This move puts a highly popular holiday gift in Facebook&#8217;s offerings, and adds slightly more integration with Apple in getting users to pull out their credit cards while visiting the site.</p>
<p>Facebook <a href="http://gigaom.com/2012/09/27/surprise-facebook-looks-to-boost-revenue-mobile-with-gifts/" target="_blank">launched its gifts platform in September</a> as a non-advertising method of growing revenue. Users can see when friends have birthdays or get engaged, and are given suggestions for physical, real-world gifts they can have sent to the friend. The company initially partnered with 100 retail partners including Starbucks, and <a href="http://gigaom.com/2012/11/15/facebook-recruits-retail-partners-for-big-gifts-holiday-push/" target="_blank">recently expanded to</a> include a variety of well-known brands including Brookstone, Baby Gap, Dean &amp; Deluca, Fab, L’Occitane and Lindt chocolate. The addition of iTunes content will provide a lower-priced option for gift-giving on the site. And songs, apps, and gift cards are some of the most versatile gifts out there, much more so than many of the existing gift options.</p>
<p>Facebook already allows users to <a href="http://gigaom.com/2012/05/09/facebook-launches-app-store-seeks-iphone-magic/" target="_blank">find iOS apps in the Facebook App Center</a> and then purchase them through iTunes store, but turning Facebook gifts into a direct platform for purchasing digital content via iTunes marks another step forward in that integration. Apple has heavily integrated Facebook into iOS 6 <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/apple-officially-killing-ping-social-network-on-sept-30/" target="_blank">after Ping failed to gain any social traction among users</a>, so working with Facebook to gift digital content could be an interesting way to drive sales and recommendations.</p>
<p>With the new iTunes offerings, users will be able to select either a song, movie app or album to purchase for a friend, and a code will be sent to the friend&#8217;s email address to redeem. Users who don&#8217;t want to pick out and recommend specific content can also purchase gift cards for friends, which are available for $10, $15, $25, or $50. When a user purchases content for a friend, it will show up in the timeline, serving as a recommendation both for the content and Facebook&#8217;s gift platform.</p>
<p><a href="http://gigaom.com/?attachment_id=587929" rel="attachment wp-att-587929"><img  title="iTunes gifts platform Facebook Apple" alt="iTunes gifts platform Facebook Apple" src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/itunes_gifts.png?w=604&#038;h=397" height="397" width="604" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-587929" /></a></p>
<br />  <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=587904&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" /><p><a href="http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?iu=/1008864/GigaOM_RSS_300x250&#038;sz=300x250&#038;c=189864"><img src="http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?iu=/1008864/GigaOM_RSS_300x250&#038;sz=300x250&#038;c=189864" /></a></p><p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=tech&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=587904+facebook-adds-itunes-content-to-gifting-platform&utm_content=elizakern">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2012/05/the-discovery-democracy-how-social-discovery-is-transforming-entertainment/?utm_source=tech&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=587904+facebook-adds-itunes-content-to-gifting-platform&utm_content=elizakern">How social discovery is transforming entertainment</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2012/01/forecast-the-evolution-of-the-digital-music-industry/?utm_source=tech&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=587904+facebook-adds-itunes-content-to-gifting-platform&utm_content=elizakern">Forecast: the future of the digital music industry</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/11/connected-world-the-consumer-technology-revolution/?utm_source=tech&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=587904+facebook-adds-itunes-content-to-gifting-platform&utm_content=elizakern">Connected world: the consumer technology revolution</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
	
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		<media:content url="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/itunes_timeline.png?w=139" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">iTunes timeline gifts platform Facebook Apple</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">elizakern</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">iTunes gifts platform Facebook Apple</media:title>
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