Facebook becomes Google advertising ally

Google-owned online ad-placing service DoubleClick on Friday announced that the way has been cleared to include space at Facebook. Google had previously been shut out of the social network’s advertising network, with no reasons given for the exclusion or the change of heart. Word that the Internet titan’s online advertising reach would extend to Facebook came as Google shares breached $1,000 for the first time. Google stock was priced at $1,011.41 at the close of the Nasdaq on Friday and continued to climb in after-market trades. Facebook shares also hit a new all-time high on Friday and closed at $54.22 a share. “Partnership has been key to Google’s success as a rising tide lifts all boats,” DoubleClick senior product manager Payam Shodjai said in a blog post. “So we’re excited to announce a new way to help our clients succeed by working with Facebook to participate in FBX, their real-time bidding exchange.” DoubleClick Bid Manager is a way for marketers to buy online ad space at websites across the Internet. Prior to Friday, Facebook did not permit the Google-owned service to sell ad space at the world’s leading social network. “Starting in a few months, clients will be able to buy inventory on FBX via DoubleClick Bid Manager,” Shodjai said. Shares of Internet search and advertising titan Google soared past the $1,000 mark after a quarterly earnings report showed that it was smoothly building its presence in the mobile area while advertising earnings rose all around, with particular help from Google’s YouTube website. Meanwhile, on Thursday Facebook allowed teenagers to share their posts on the social network with anyone on the Internet, raising the risks of minors leaving a digital trail that could lead to trouble. The change announced Wednesday affects Facebook users who list their ages as being from 13 to 17. Facebook will warn minors opting to be more open that they are exposing themselves to a broader audience. The warning will repeat on every post, as long as the settings remain on “public.”The initial privacy settings of teens under 18 will automatically be programmed so posts are seen only by friends. That’s slightly more restrictive than the previous automatic setting that allowed teens to distribute their posts to friends of their friends in the network. In a blog post, Facebook said it decided to revise its privacy rules to make its service more enjoyable for teens and provide them with a more powerful megaphone when they believe they have an important point to make or a cause to support. “Teens are among the savviest people using social media, and whether it comes to civic engagement, activism, or their thoughts on a new movie, they want to be heard,” Facebook wrote. The relaxed standards also may help teens spend more time on Facebook instead of other services, such as Snapchat, that are becoming more popular hangouts among younger people. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, though, says that the company’s internal data shows its social network remains a magnet for teens. Giving people more reasons to habitually visit its social network is important to Facebook because a larger audience helps sell more of the ads that generate most of the Menlo Park, Calif., company’s revenue. Source: Kuwait Time