In recent months, Facebook had discussions with former MySpace co-President and former MTV executive Jason Hirschhorn in regards to a job spearheading the company's outreach to media companies, based on several people familiar with the situation.
While the talks don't appear to have gone anywhere, and it wasn't clear whether Facebook had approached others concerning the position, the efforts signal Facebook's intention to take a far more hands-on approach in helping media companies bring their content towards the social network.
"They had held the media industry at arm's length for some time. It was: 'We are a platform, come use us all that's necessary but we don't necessarily need to partner with a person. ' But now the attitude has changed, " said among the people familiar with the situation.
"They realise that among the next phases in its evolution is to work using the media companies, " the person added.
Facebook and Hirschhorn each declined to comment.
Facebook's media push comes as the organization faces fresh competition from Google Inc, which launched a rival social network service in June.
Twitter recruited former Creative Artists Agency executive Omid Ashtari to become its "L. A. person" last November, according to a study in AllThingsD. com, and the company recently appointed Chloe Sladden to some new role overseeing content and programming efforts.
"The view is they're taking a look at Twitter and Google and their outreach to the media community plus they don't want to fall behind the curve, " the origin said. "They don't want the media companies to believe they're uninterested. "
Facebook has gradually gotten closer towards the media world, with Chief Operating Office Sheryl Sandberg becoming a member of the Walt Disney Co board of directors in Dec 2009, and Netflix Inc Chief Executive Reed Hastings going for a seat on Facebook's board in June.
Several movie studios have released movies that may be rented and viewed on Facebook this year, including Warner Brothers' "Dark Knight" as well as Universal Pictures' "Big Lebowski. "
Facebook was aggressively exploring recruiting a media point-person some time ago, but has since shifted its attention to other proper priorities, the sources said. But with the company increasingly interested in making media a key the main social network, people expect the search to pick upward again soon.
THE GAMING LESSON
Facebook's media ambitions is going to be on display on Thursday at its annual developer conference in Bay area, where the company is expected to unveil new songs features.
The music platform will integrate streaming music providers from companies including Spotify, Rhapsody and Rdio, directly in to users' home pages, said several other people familiar using the situation. Facebook users who subscribe to the music services can share songs and playlists with each other and see what their friends are hearing, the people said.
Facebook will also unveil new flavours of its "Like" button in the event, allowing users to flag Web pages or other online quite happy with specific recommendations, such as "Read, " "Watched" or "Listened, " based on a source with knowledge of the matter.
For Myspace, building a deeper integration with music, movies and other media into its service causes it to be more likely that users will spend more time upon its site, allowing the company to generate more marketing dollars.
Media also fits well with Facebook Credits, the payment system that Facebook has introduced because of its users to buy digital goods on its site. Facebook requires a 30% cut of transactions using Facebook Credits.
The theme for Facebook's media push is social games, which more than 200 million of its users play online every month. Companies like Zynga and Electronic Arts Inc's Playfish have built successful businesses developing social games that may be played on Facebook.
But recreating that magic with the media industry might be trickier.
While technology-savvy social game companies are adept from quickly creating products that shine on various "platforms, " for example social networks or smartphone applications, traditional content providers don't hold the same kinds of expertise, said another person familiar using the situation.
"You can't just drop platforms in Hollywood, " the individual said.
"They make content well, " he said. However, he noted, creating media that really shines on a social network platform requires hand-holding.
Source : Business-Standard