So facebook really is taking over the world. A day or so ago they announced the opening of their Network Marketplace which is, essentially, an ebay style sub-section of facebook that allows people to list, request and trade items between other people in their network. Although in its infancy and without any way of setting a time limit, placing a bid (other than messaging the seller) or making a payment, I can see facebook implementing these things soon.

While I can see potential in the market place idea I can already see a problem that would stop me using it, and in fact is one of the biggest gripes about facebook – put things in pounds! Facebook has networks all over the world and yet we all have to use dollars and get messages about American football games. This is annoying to say the least. Its remarkably easy to make a site have region specific modes of operation – I’ve done it with sites I’ve written on many occasions, so there is no reason facebook couldn’t either. In fact having the networks set up the way they do, with specific regions for advertising etc. I’d say it would be even easier to do.

That aside though the more fundamental thing that strikes me about facebook is that they are trying to put too many things into one site. People do like to get everything in the one place, but they tend to consider that one place as their computer. At the rate facebook are going they are going to have a little bit of every other mainstream website built in. Now I know this is probably their aim, but the problem with having a bit of everything is that you tend not to be able to do any single one of them all that well. Facebook makes a very good social networking site, but for me and I’m sure many others, thats all its ever going to be.

Coming back to the market place though, we all expected it, but probably not quite so soon after opening. Yup, one girl is already selling herself on the trading portal and is inviting facebook users to message their bids accross. She has already received a couple of amusing comments on her wall and there are sure to be many more. If you’re bored why not check them out, lol. I wonder if the listing will get deleted by facebook like similar ones in the past on eBay?