Facebook gifts lets users give real stuff

Facebook unveiled a new program Thursday that lets users give real gifts — from $5 Starbucks cards to more expensive treasures, like Jawbone's Jambox wireless speaker ($200) — and can be done instantly, from an Android phone, and in coming weeks, the iPhone, Digital Life Today reported.

While Facebook has offered the ability to offer virtual gifts, most recently in the form of Facebook credits, and has apps to use for gift-giving, Facebook Gifts can be done right from your Timeline. The program is made possible by Facebook's acquisition earlier this year of gifting service Karma.

Lee Linden, Karma's founder, has told TODAY.com that Facebook is the perfect venue for gift-giving, as people are increasingly sharing "life's important moments" on the social network, and sharing them immediately in many cases.

"We realized that there's nowhere else that people go to share, celebrate and share sentiments more than on Facebook, whether it's 'Happy birthday' or 'I'm thinking of you,'" he said. The new service offers the "combination of real moments with real gifts."

The service, being rolled out today in "random" areas of the US, will give Facebook a much-needed boost in monetizing its mobile platform.

Gift-givers can choose from a range of presents, including cupcakes, chocolate, socks, T-shirts, offered by 100 partners in the program.

A new tab on the Timeline, "Gift," lets a user start the process, which "takes about 60 seconds," Linden said, and is "as easy as it is to attach a photo." Gifts can also be sent from Facebook birthday reminders.


Notice of the gift shows up on the recipient's Timeline, although the gift giver can also make it "100 percent private," so that just the recipient sees it, Linden said.

The recipient can remove the gift from their Timeline before they open it, if they want to do so in private, "in which case no one will see the gift," he said.