BlackBerry 9980 Mystery Model To Be Porsche-Branded Phone?

You are in a BlackBerry Post

Remember that really-odd-looking BlackBerry that showed up late last week? Supposedly the Bold 9980, the phone followed the basic layout of the 9900, but adopted a harsh-looking metal exterior. We've since heard some new rumors that hope to nail down just what this model is, and also gotten a chance to see the phone on video.

It's starting to look like this really is a legit BlackBerry, rather than some kind of counterfeit look-alike. Supposedly, it's got the code name Knight and may be a special edition phone released with Porsche branding. If that's to be the case, we can expect the 9980 to be both rare and quite expensive.

The new video shows the 9980 running BlackBerry OS 7, and we've also got an alternate render of the phone to check out, replacing the PROCEEDING up top with what appears to be Chinese characters. This would make a whole lot more sense if there was one that read PORSCHE, but that would be just too easy, wouldn't it?

Has anyone who was initially not a fan of the phone started coming around to it yet?

Source: CrackBerry, BerryCN
Via: IntoMobile Previous Page Next Page

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The BEST Business Model Ever!

Never before in the history of humanity have there been a time as this when the whole world seems to be realizing finally, the very intent and purpose for creation - collaboration. The stiff competition that often characterized the industrial age is gradually giving way to this new age where passion thrives and information rules. Businesses are beginning to awaken to the fact that unless there's something SIGNIFICANTLY unusual about their business, there's no way they are going to remain relevant. It is increasingly becoming obvious, that the businesses that will thrive in this new age are those who are consistently willing to touch a heart before asking for a hand - being helpful.

No longer will the market tolerate businesses that are out to get before giving, no longer will the market tolerate businesses that are not different and making a difference, no longer will the market tolerate businesses that are not unique and being useful, no longer will the market tolerate businesses that don't stand for something, no longer will the market tolerate businesses that are not contributing to the success of their customers.

In this new age, the law of exchange which states that; 'to get, you must first give' is the standard on which every business that aspires to grow must be built. Every site I visit is now giving away something, mostly an eBook in exchange for my email. Everyone is sharing something, whether it's a link on Twitter, a video on YouTube or a picture on FaceBook. The whole world seems to be in the business of helping someone. To thrive in this new age, being Helpful must become your new business model. Woven under the very fabric of your business must be a strong desire to help. Your business must be built on the principle of helping someone accomplish a particular goal or objective as a result of coming in contact with the product or service your business offers.

What is a Business Model?

Looking at this concept, two words come into play, business and model. For better understanding, I am going to separate them and look at each individually, ok?

The Meaning of Business

A business is a social institution that provides a product or service to a particular group of people known as customers or clients for a particular agreed fee or price.

The first word in the definition that I will like to talk about is social institution. A business at its core is purely built on social interaction. Meaning, everything in the world of business revolves around people. Your employees are people, so are your customers and your suppliers and bankers and lawyers and partners or investors. There's no way you can do business outside of people. So what does this suggest to you? It clearly means that to succeed in business, you cannot avoid dealing with people and when people are involved, the golden rule must apply; "do unto others how you would have them do unto you." Underlying the golden rule is the law of exchange [giving before getting] at work.

Going back to the definition, you would see the law of exchange at play again. How do I mean? You would notice that the definition of business clearly states that a business must first provide [give] products or services to a particular group of people who would then pay an agreed fee or price [get]. In other words, you are not permitted to get until you give. Therefore, business is a discipline that involves dealing with people through the provision of goods and services that attract payment in return.

The meaning of a Model

A model by itself is the interpretation, representation or simulation of a theory in real life. It's how we mentally try to imagine or portray what a theory, principle, concept or idea will look like in practice.

According to Dr. Phil Walker,

"Models are used to help us understand how things might work in real life. They are the mental representation of an outward reality. A good working model must be exact enough to give us answers to how things will work yet flexible enough to allow for adjustments and changes."

In case all of the grammar in the definition above didn't sink, here's one that might sink. I'm sure you are very familiar with models, they come in different categories; we have beauty models, fashion models and role models. Picture a fashion model for example, what do they do? They basically portray how a particular design of an apparel or clothing will look like when worn in real life. They are in other words, the representation of what the cloth will look like on your body. Merely looking at them gives you a clue of how it would look on you even though you haven't actually worn the cloth or apparel yourself. A model works basically in the same manner.

Looking at another example, role models, we all know what they are meant for. They are the physical representations of what we would like our life to look like when it is finally done. They give us a clue that when we lead our life in a particular way just as that of our role model, eventually we'll be just like them. The same again, is how models in business work. They give us a mental clue, representation or interpretation of what a concept, idea, principle, thought, philosophy etc. will look like in reality.

The definition of a Business Model

In the words of Seth Godin, an international bestselling author of 12 business books, entrepreneur and agent of change;

"This classic MBA phrase describes how you set up a business so you can get money out of it. A business model is a machine, a method, a plan for extracting money from a system. Without a business model, a company can get publicity, hire employees and spend money, but it won't make a profit."

Below are some sample business models extracted from Seth Godin's groundbreaking manifesto "the bootstrapper's bible". See if you can guess which company each comes from:

1. HIRE THE WORLD'S BEST ATHLETES AS SPOKESPEOPLE.Buy an enormous amount of advertising. Use the advertising to get every sporting goods store to carry your products. Make your product overseas for a very little money. Charge very high prices.

2. FIND LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT CARE ABOUT THEIR EMPLOYEES.Offer them a free water cooler if they allow you refill it. Earn money by making deliveries on a regular basis.

3. CREATE THE OPERATING SYSTEM that runs every personal computer in the world. Then use the power you gain from knowing that system, which controls the computers, to create software, web sites, online services, even travel agencies.

These are the business models of NIKE, POLANDSPRING, and MICROSOFT.

Permit me to add a fourth one; I'm sure you would love this one.

4. CREATE A SOCIAL UTILITY that will allow people to socialize by connecting and sharing things with family and friends online for FREE, then make room for businesses, celebrities and organizations to also do the same, but charge them a token for this in form of advertisement to those who use the platform for free.

You must have probably guessed right, Facebooks business model.

Therefore, a business model is the way a company has decided to setup and portray itself in such a way that it is able to attract money [get] by providing specific products or services [give]. It basically serves as a framework, blueprint, or prototype that attempts to describe or capture the underlying, thought, philosophy, idea, concept, principle, or mindset that will drive or guide the operations of a business in real life in a way that will allow it to be profitable. It's an ideal representation of what the operations of a business would look like in reality woven around a particular mentality or philosophy. That is, it gives a clue about how your business should be done in the real world. A business model is not the same as a business plan. A business plan is a strategic course of action. Meaning, it basically outlines several action steps a business should take as regarding different aspects of its operation.

A business model on the other hand is not a list of action steps, it is not as tangible or concrete as a plan, but rather, it's a conceptual or mental projection of your business when it is ready. It doesn't present action steps as a business plan does; it presents the actual picture of the business when the action steps have been executed for maximum results. The business model is what is underneath the business plan. Meaning, a plan is built on a model. So without a model, a plan cannot be created. A model is what guides the creation of a plan. It is the business model that gives a business plan its inherent meaning.

Creating A Plan Built On The Desire To HELP

The desire to help must underlie everything your business represents and does. You can have the best business plan in the world, if it is not built around a strong ideology or philosophy of helping others [those you've targeted to be your customers], then your plan is as good as useless. Your business must be built on and around the desire to sincerely provide help in the form of product or services to those it serves. How you create, communicate and deliver this help is totally up to you, but the key thing here is to understand that help is the new business model. That is, helping people is the new way of looking at and doing business, unless, you don't want to succeed. Therefore, only those companies who are in the business of providing help will succeed in this new age.

So what then is the meaning of HELP?

Helpin the context of business and in life, means the same thing. A business provides help so do other non-profit making organizations concerned about certain aspects of life too. While a business provides help for a FEE, non-profit organizations provides help for FREE. Whichever way you choose to look at it, they are both in the service of providing help.

Helpmeans Value. Let me be more precise; help is adding Value. Value is anything that is capable of providing satisfaction or gratification in one way or another to an individual or group of individuals. Value is something that is worth something to somebody. Value is anything that can be measured as a unit of satisfaction or gratification irrespective of personal preferences. If it can be quantified, then it has value.

How to make HELP Your New Business Model

1. Definition of HELP: The first step to making help your new business model is to sit down and define what you want to call help in your business. Every business cannot provide the same kind of help, so it's highly important you define your own kind of help because this is what separates your business from all others who are in similar industries or providing similar products or services. So what kind of help do you want your business to provide? In other words, what kind of value do you want your business to be adding to its target customers? Your first task as an entrepreneur is to identify and define the value [help] your business is offering or bringing to the world.

2. Creation of HELP: the second step in making help your new business model after identifying the kind of help [value] your business wants to offer the world is to ask yourself; how do we create this help? That you have identified your company's definition of help [value] doesn't mean your company currently possesses or provides that help. After all, you cannot possibly give what you do not have. So the next step is to create your own version of help [value] which you've decided to offer the world in exchange for money.

3. Communication of HELP: no one will ever know that your business has identified and created something of value to the world if it never comes out to proclaim such a thing exists. There are a million and one people in the world who are in need of the kind of help [value] your business has identified and created, it is the responsibility of your business to make the existence of such help known to the world. This is the place of communication. You have to announce the existence of your company's rare kind of help [value] so that those in need of it can come for it while giving you money in exchange for the help your business provided.

4. Delivery of HELP: the final step in making help your new business model is the actual delivery of the help you have identified, created and communicated to the world that your business offers. In delivering the help [value] you want to be sure that it is exactly as you have communicated. You certainly don't want to over promise and under-deliver. So make sure you deliver on the same quality and quantity of help [value] you have previously communicated. Doing this makes your business indispensable in the eyes of the world or those you serve.

So over to you my dear reader, how has your business been able to define, create, communicate and deliver help [value] to the world?

My name is Tito Philips, Jnr. I'm a young Nigerian that is MAD -different and making a difference. My purpose in life is to help people, businesses and lives become SIGNIFICANT (unique & useful), so I created an unusual company, http://www.MADphilips.com to help me achieve just that. I also run an unusual blog http://www.naijapreneur.com where I constantly share unusual business development tips for unusual entrepreneurs who want to build SIGNIFICANT (unusual) businesses.

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Success Tips For Working At Home With The Network Marketing Business Model

Notice the word 'work' in this article's title. That's right any business takes hard work to develop over time and a home based business in Network Marketing is no different. Just think of yourself as the CEO of a major corporation. Because that's what you really are with your Network Marketing business which has the potential to actually pay you like a CEO of any corporation and sometimes even more!

Treating a business like a REAL business will ultimately create wealth like a REAL business. This is where most people fall through the cracks so to speak because they just do not understand business and what it takes to succeed in one. Many join with a ''I'll give it a try'' attitude and it ends up being a hobby which ultimately pays like a hobby and all that really means is no profits like a business can generate.

Thinking like a CEO of a major corporation will help you to position yourself and condition your mindset to realizing that you are your own boss instead of having an employee ball and chain mindset. You are the one making the decisions for your future and the decisions you make will either give you long term financial freedom or long term slavery. Which one do you choose?

It's important for any business person to set up a business plan for their future. Our team uses a written business plan that is sent out to each new partner because this gives the impression that we are in business to make a profit vs having a hobby. Think about where you'd like to be five years from now. The decisions you make now will affect that outcome. Set your 5 year, one year and one month goals. Write them down. Do not be afraid to dream BIG! Remember a goal is a dream with a deadline! Once you obtain one goal set a new and bigger one.

Make sure you set realistic daily goals you can achieve every single day that will lead up to your longer term goals and do not be afraid to change your goals and stretch to reach bigger ones. Prioritize your to do list and do the most important things first that are ultimately going to help you reach your long term goals. This usually means prospecting. Anything that has to do with you speaking with people about your company and products are going to be productive and help you to reach your long term goals.

The most important thing is to avoid procrastination to get where you want to be in five years. Devote a certain number of hours a week to your business. This will depend on your lifestyle and other activities that are important such as a full time job, taking care of your family, church activities, sports activities and other important priorities in your life. Putting a timer on your desk to help stay on track and to finish an important task without being sidetracked could help. The Internet is a great way to get sidetracked!

Places like yahoo groups, online communities, instant messenger are all ways to meet and communicate with people online but they can also be very distracting if a person gets caught up for hours in these areas. Make sure to use them wisely and productively and always keep a business mindset because ultimately the long term goal is to build a business using these resources. Develop a productive routine that helps you to obtain your short term goals that will lead up to your long term goals. Stay organized and focused with that long term big dream in mind at all times. This is why it's important to write goals down or put photos up to always keep your mind refreshed on WHY you started a business in the first place.

Surround yourself with positive like minded people who have similar goals and constantly be on the lookout for business minded people. Take on a professional attitude and look professional when you go out and are approaching people about your business. If you are building an online presence make sure you have a personal photo on your website. Having a professional one taken is even better. This is the first thing people see when they visit your website. They are looking for leadership and professionalism and someone who is serious about their business.

Always put a personal photo on your profile in the online communities. This is crucial to your success as a business person! Never use abstract pictures. This will not present you in a professional business manner and people simply will not take you seriously or look to you for business advice.

Make sure that you are saving all of your receipts for tax purposes and find an accountant that understands Network Marketing and home business. There are many excellent tax deduction advantages available to you as a home based business owner and you may be missing out on them because you are not seeking proper tax advice.

This is why it's so important to have a business plan in place to show you have a serious intent to make a profit. It's also a great way to stay focused on goals. Speak with everyone you know and meet about your business and hand out business cards. If you opened a book store or a boutique you would tell everyone you know about it right? Then why not tell people you know about your Network Marketing business? It just does not make sense not to does it?

After all when you are a serious business owner you are constantly thinking of how to move your business forward into a profit. You would be advertising, you would have expenses to run your store, you would be hiring employees and managing them and you would be keeping records for tax purposes. Network Marketing is really no different than having any other business and there are some significant advantages.

There are no overhead expenses or employees to manage while offering the same tax advantages available to all small business owners today. Just make sure the Network Marketing company you choose does not have inventory requirements or heavy group volume requirements to earn commissions. If a company requires you to buy a large amount of product up front to start it's called 'frontloading' and this is usually not a positive thing. People many times get caught up with products they are not able to retail so they tend to sit in their garage or cupboards. This is where the term 'garage qualified' comes from. It's why the media often pokes fun at the Network Marketing industry.

Most Network Marketing companies require you to first purchase some type of 'starter or distributor kit'. This is a one time cost and is usually under a $100. You will also have monthly expenses for office supplies, postage, advertising and depending on how you market you could have expenses for some type of online marketing system to run your prospects through. Remember to get with your accountant to find out about your tax deductible business expenses.

You should not be required to pay more than $39 to $100 to start a Network Marketing business with the actual company. This also does not mean that you take your business LESS seriously! On the contrary, a Network Marketing business has the same amount of potential or sometimes even more than any other business. It depends on the person starting the business to take it seriously enough for it to create the kind of wealth potential it really has.

When you become a distributor for a Network Marketing company this gives you the right to sell that companies products and services to others. When you are selling products you are in business. When you are sharing you have a hobby so think about that concept. Again if you owned a store front you would not be sharing products would you? How long do you think your business would stay open if all you did was 'share' your products with people who came into your store? Business owners sell products. People who have a hobby share products. It's that simple.

You will however share the Network Marketing business concept. This is when selling and convincing is not necessary. When it comes to sharing your business concept all you do is give a person one of the resources recommended below so that they can make the decision for themselves. You are just educating them on your business concept. If you are still not sold on the validity of owning a Network Marketing business and it's potential simply go out and pick up a few of Robert Kiyosaki's books and/or cds. In fact, he just wrote a new one with Donald Trump called 'We Want You To Be Rich' where in chapter 27 they are extremely positive about recommending the Network Marketing business model. Get some of Kiyosaki's CD's 'The Perfect Business' to hand out to people to educate them on the Network Marketing business model. Let these expert professional business owners do the explaining for you.

When someone ask you how you're doing tell them you are right on track to achieve your goals!

Most traditional businesses do not make a profit for years and in fact, many go out of business within the first two years. So why on earth should you be ashamed when you start your Network Marketing business and in a few months when you are not stinkin filthy rich, one of your friends ask you if you're making any money and you become embarrassed to tell them about it. Just tell the truth. You're in a real business and any business takes money, time and work! This is not the lottery! It's a business! Most business minded people you speak with will understand this concept so do not worry if your friends and family do not. Your job is to be the messenger. If they have been misinformed, burned in the past or do not understand the Network Marketing business model, lead them to the resources and then move on.

They have to decide if they are interested in becoming a business owner or not. It's not your job to convince them. This is an excellent reason to find a Network Marketing company that has a product with real RETAIL value built in so that you are able to start profiting by putting cash in your pocket immediately as soon as you receive your products! If you have a product that is not retailable it's going to be really tough to put immediate cash in your pocket. You'll be forced to do more sponsoring to find more wholesale buyers to purchase and consume your products and this can take a lot longer for you to start making a profit right away in your business.

Start believing, thinking and acting like a business person. Be professional, put your plan in place, take action everyday to achieve your goals, never give up and you will eventually become successful in your home business. How successful? That really depends on you! Start right now! Your future is waiting!

Copyright © 2007 by Sue Seward. All Rights Reserved.

(***You may copy this article using the attached bio below)

Sue is a wife, mom, entrepreneur, top income earner with her company, who has been working from home online since 1996. She encourages millionaire mind thinking and shows people how to develop valuable connections online and turn them into lasting relationships for long term business profits. She is also a public speaker and published author of numerous print and electronic articles as well as coauthor of the book 'Build It Big: 101 Insider Secrets From Top Direct Selling Experts'. To find out more about how Sue builds her business online visit http://www.eCommerceHomeBiz.com

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The Future Business Model of Facebook

The one thing Facebook has not figured out yet is how to utilize their fabulous product to make the most money, consistently and on an ongoing basis - i.e. finding the right business model. A really intriguing topic to write my very first blog about, because, in my opinion, finding the right business model for Facebook cannot be accomplished using conventional thinking, like, solely looking at Google and their search engine ad revenue, for example. Facebook is unique, so you need to find unique solutions. Actually, there is not one single best business model for this site, rather a multitude of potential revenue streams from very different sources. It is not only "how do we generate revenue", but equally important "when do we start with which one". This might sound strange now, but it will get clear, when reading this. Summarized, it is basically taking your assets and what made you successful in the first place and finding new ways to use them effectively.

Business Network / Business Profile

I thinking about this since beginning of February. Wouldn't it be great, if you'd only need to login once and have your private and professional network in one view, although strictly separated from each other, depending on your settings? Wouldn't it also be great for companies to have a business network with about 7 times more users than LinkedIn, that can offer people having every kind of skills and experience imaginable as well as offering any kind of services and products among their 500 million users? Wouldn't it be great for Facebook to be able to get into companies blocking the site so far, generating new streams of ad and other revenue from recruitment companies and others? But most importantly, Business Network market leaders LinkedIn and Xing charge their users, meaning Facebook would have an absolute legitimate case to do so as well for their business network users. This means, that the crucial, and psychological, hurdle of charging end-users can be overcome via a sideway, so to speak, without having to expect a massive backlash or a mass exodus of users. Of course, they can only start to charge the active business network users, but when the door is open once...needless to say, this has the highest potential impact on the bottom line of Facebook.

All this would happen, if Facebook offered a Business Network, too. This is not even a huge undertaking for them really, just leveraging their existing functionality.

It can be set-up rather easily via automatic transfer of the existing (fitting) data of the user profiles into their new professional profiles, giving the users the choice to opt-in into this service and let them enter more business-related data to be able to activate their professional profile (which also means more key data available within Facebook). The professional profile can be, e.g. on a separate tab right next to the private one or just as another wall and info page next to the main profile, allowing for it to be within the Facebook site, but with the possibility to completely block the private section, when accessed from certain locations, while also allowing the user to keep both profiles and their connections separated via respective privacy settings. To grow rapidly, at least initially the service should be offered for free. Ads can be displayed to help offset part of the launching and initial running costs. Existing Facebook functionality should be incorporated, examples are, the news feed with real-time updates, posting pictures (e.g. from corporate events), the Like button, the option to easily post relevant news, etc., enabling the user to do the same things they like to do on the social network also in a business environment and in a simple and already known way. This would make the Facebook Business Network that much more alive than the mostly static existing ones, allowing users to be active or passive, enjoying ever-changing new content, keeping them on the site, just like it's happening on the current social network. At the same time, the previously mentioned benefits for Facebook are enormous, while the development time and costs for this are comparatively small as already proven and existing layout and functionality can be used. In my opinion, if set up properly, the other existing professional networks will be marginalized within about 9-12 months after the launch (depending on the roll-out plan), just like the other existing social networks.

In short, just take what successfully works, put it in a business context and reap the huge rewards.

Job Market

A job market, integrated with the business net as well as the rest of the site could be the next step. Same procedure as above, at the push of a button, the relevant data from the other profiles, private and professional gets transferred to a job search profile(again, if agreed to by the user) and additional data is added by the users to fill out the respective profile, alternatively, if a business network already exists the professional profile can also act as the job search profile, saving the users valuable time and enabling them to easily get out on the job market, without needing to fill out a long new form, updating their CVs, etc.. The first option, a new profile, would enable Facebook to gather more data and place more ads; the second one keeps the number of profiles from expanding, meaning less complexity and maintenance. Why Monster.com - Facebook has the equivalent of the third largest country in the world as talent base, available at the push of a button. This enables Facebook to pretty quickly become a major player selling job ads and e.g. earning additional money from HR companies for special search functions, etc. and also generating more ad money with the existing ads on the side of the screen.

Marketplace

Facebook has a marketplace actually, but it's safe to say, that it never took off in the way other parts of the site did. So I suggest a relaunch. Advantages are that no additional login is needed and the pretty convenient account access, also via Facebook's pretty well done mobile apps. Now the business network profile of (at least) the sellers should be integrated with the marketplace with the users accepting that Facebook can use their data for security reasons (e.g. to eliminate users with fake profiles from the start) while having them also add more data to be able to act as a seller (more key data within Facebook). This wealth of data enables Facebook to have a sufficiently lower fraud rate and even better fitting custom offerings for every single user than e.g. Ebay, huge competitive advantages. Special promotions for goods on Facebook will also make it easier for many users to accept letting Facebook use their existing data strictly for security reasons.

Now some examples for things currently totally out of Facebook's scope,

Facebook Apparel

Why they haven't done this already is beyond me. It's a great brand, simple logo, people like it. White and blue T-shirts, each with the alternatively colored Facebook logo, and matching caps, maybe some sweaters, that's enough for starters. Then advertise these products via their ad system, which simultaneously generates a great case study to show to ad buying prospects. For sure not their potentially largest income stream, but pretty quick to launch and profitable nevertheless, with options galore, like the ability to build the biggest clothing online store on the web via own offerings and the integration of other brands and retailers in an open way, similar to what Facebook has already done with applications on their site (use what works). Tailor-made offers (no pun intended) for 500 million users every time they log in, is quite a powerful thing here, too. Even opening Facebook brick & mortar stores in the future could be a viable option, also not necessarily limited to clothing.

Comprehensive Event & Event pictures database

Neat little features with great user benefits while pretty quick and rather inexpensive to launch are always fun. A comprehensive event database where every event manager will enter their own events and every Facebook user can search the listed events, concerts, etc. in his or any other region. If you travel abroad, for example, you know where to look for events and e.g. can also contact the event management or other Facebook users attending an event you are interested in easily and immediately with tools you are already familiar with. Additionally, the option to link pictures to the respective events should be implemented. Again, integrating all the successful Facebook features e.g. allowing people to tag themselves or be tagged (for privacy reasons, only the person her-/himself can tag themselves if they want; to tag others, the user needs to give permission to be tagged in this more public environment), Comment, Like button, etc., also allowing users to upload their own pictures from the events and link them to the event (when authorized by the event manager), makes it that much more interesting and definitely increases the number of user interactions on Facebook. Needless to say, all this is non- existent with the usual event/photo sites, where you often need to register, again, then get flooded with ads and only have partial overview over one region, and basically none of the other options described above. A centralized database is so much more convenient. By using already existing functionality for a new application, Facebook will save resources in developing these features while gaining speed to launch them (a familiar theme by now). Existing sites will have no chance against a comprehensive, worldwide, but localized database within the offering of a 500 million user juggernaut. This is certainly not difficult to set up from a technical standpoint and will render the existing party sites meaningless within about 6 months after launch in the respective regions. Facebook would gain even more new users, more user-generated content and user interaction as well as more ad revenue (e.g. the ad money flowing to the party sites will go to Facebook) out of this.

Banking functions

Microcredits

Facebook itself could offer a variation of a microcredit to its users (a microcredit is a very small loan originally designed for impoverished people in developing countries to engage in self-employment projects that allow them to generate an income - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcredit ). Where's the context, you will ask. The data of the users of Facebook is a credit rating specialist's dream as certain non-financial data is, when available, also highly valuable in today's loan approval process. No bank has anything close to this in terms of private data. To actually being able to use this data, Facebook would ask the applicants to sign a document that his Facebook user data can be used in the loan approval process. You can bet, somebody who wants money, will accept this. (Also, the applicants will be asked to provide their full financial information, of course, as this is currently not available on Facebook.) In this scenario, a credit officer will really have the total picture. This is an invaluable advantage in being able to calculate if an applicant should be denied or if someone will be able to pay back. This would result in a lower credit default rate for the Facebook loans, meaning in turn higher profitability, but also lower interest rates for the recipients of the loans, as Facebook would need to price less into the issued loans for the expected defaults than normal banks. Facebook needs some experienced banking people for this, get a license (not as difficult as it sounds nowadays, I guess the government will be happy, if anybody else wants to offer quality loans), set up a process and the respective software or alternatively, have one bank or a consortium of banks in the background for this and only act as router (first option earns much more money, latter one can be set up more easily and bears less risks). In any case, the first step would then be to start a very small test balloon (they would be totally overrun, if they would even offer this "only" in their home state, let alone Facebook-wide). After some time gaining experience with the process, they can think about offering higher amounts and potentially becoming quite some competition to regular banks (again, think the potential customer base of 500 million+), while, importantly, also doing something good in supporting their users with more affordable loans. Later on, they could even expand to offer more banking functions, like an online account, e-brokerage...

Peer-to-Peer Lending platform

They could also offer a Peer-to-Peer lending platform, where users lend money to other users, like e.g. Zopa or Prosper, which would soon thereafter become the biggest one on the web, of course. The process would be the same as with microcredits, whoever wants a loan, needs to share his data with Facebook, so it can be checked, if the applicants qualify, which is what the P-to-P platforms do as a service for the lenders, charging a small fee for it (another revenue stream for Facebook). The advantages to other platforms are the same as to banks in regards to microcredits, the quantity and quality of the data at hand. Another advantage here would be that the number of social interactions between the users increases as lenders and takers interact quite a lot on these platforms and a rather safe guess is that they would do even more so on the familiar Facebook. This is also potentially a good way of gaining experience before offering microcredits themselves, if they choose to do so.

Credit information system

If Facebook decides to not go the route above or chooses to launch another business, they could easily become the largest and best credit information data provider. They have data nobody else has and banks would pay a lot to get this information. Here, the privacy problem becomes a bigger one as Facebook cannot just transfer the data. From Facebook's point of view, the best thing would be to let the banks negotiate the access with each bank client, who is a Facebook user.

I have more examples, but this was just to show, that the possibilities are endless.

As I have stated initially, it is basically taking your assets and what made you successful in the first place and finding new ways to use them effectively.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, there are many ways for Facebook to haul in boatloads of money and Mark Zuckerberg be all smiles. It is not only "how do we generate revenue", but equally important "when do we start with which one". That's tricky, and a distinct timeline can only be set by the company itself, of course. My suggestion would be to start the Event/Pictures point in parallel with the business network. The latter has the most impact, the first can be set up the easiest and they don't interfere with each other. I have no affiliation with Facebook or any insight or access, so these are just my humble suggestions and assumptions. Whatever is going to happen, it is definitely exciting to see, where Facebook is actually going and what is possible for them.

Next up: How Google can prevent Facebook from taking over

My name is Matthias Karim Rahmatian, I am holding a master degree in business administration from the Vienna University with the focus on Leadership, Human Resources and Psychology in a business environment. My half Austrian, half Persian descent helps me tremendously in understanding and effectively communicating in cross-cultural environments. Having held several leadership positions in the IT industry and being stakeholder and board member of a software company, I have a tech background, too. My main interests are in personal development, strategy, thinking about how to make things better and international business & politics and foremost - how to help others achieve extraordinary results!
1) How to set goals and create outcome- and purpose-driven massive action plans
2) How to stay dedicated and driven
3) The tools you need to achieve your goals
4) How to ENJOY not only the outcome but the process itself!
Check out my website:makara-coaching

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