Research firm eMartketer estimated that Facebook Inc. would make about $4 billion in 2011, more than double the levels of 2010. Kevin Ryan, former CEO of advertising giant DoubleClick, estimates that over $1 billion of that will be due to social gaming through Facebook.
The chunk also includes revenue from Facebook Credits, which users of the social network can use to buy items for games and other activities. Facebook's ever increasing user-base is attracting more and more advertisers to the website.
"Assuming Facebook is on track to produce $4 billion in ad revenue this year, $1 billion of that coming from social gaming is not outlandish," said Paul Verna, a senior analyst at eMarketer.
Facebook doesn't disclose financial information and wouldn't comment on Kevin Ryan's prediction. It is backed up by Zynga Inc's Friday filing for a $1 billion initial public offering. The developer, which admits it makes the vast majority of its revenue through the Facebook platform, revealed that it generated $235 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2011.
Written by: James Delahunty @ 1 Jul 2011 21:15
