Facebook appears to be readying the next phase of its application platform – a payments system that would allow application developers to conduct transactions through the Facebook site, according to a announcement unearthed on Tuesday by Valleywag.
When he launched the Facebook platform strategy in May, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, hinted that some kind of payment system could be in the works. Such a system would expand the revenue streams available to application writers by allowing them to charge users for premium services, or even sell items through Facebook outright, rather than relying on advertising to make money. Facebook could also benefit if it worked out a way to pocket a piece of each transaction run over its payments system. Read more
Pleo the dinosaur needs to evolve more
Ugobe has finally hatched its baby dinosaur in time for this Christmas rather than last, but can Pleo fulfill its potential as the biggest robotic toy since its Furby forefather?
Ugobe sent me a review unit to play with for two weeks and, while I found it to be a marvel of engineering, I was not convinced the toy would have mass appeal. Read more
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Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
