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    Facebook ad network looms as Sponsored Stories show up on Zynga.com

    Facebook ad network looms as Sponsored Stories show up on Zynga.com

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    Facebook ads have just begun showing up alongside game content on Zynga.com, TechCrunch reports. This marks the first instance of Facebook ads showing up outside of the social network itself, though these ads aren't exactly what they seem.

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    Facebook ads have just begun showing up alongside game content on Zynga.com, TechCrunch reports. This marks the first instance of Facebook "ads" showing up outside of the social network itself, though these ads aren't exactly what they seem. As stated in Facebook's pre-IPO S-1 documents, the two companies have worked out a profit-sharing agreement where Facebook can display ads on Zynga.com — but we're only seeing the first iteration of this agreement today. "The Facebook ads you see on Zynga are the same ads you see on Facebook.com," a document from the Facebook Help Center states, which means that you now might encounter Sponsored Stories (from companies that friends Like) as well as regular Facebook ads off site.

    Facebook and Zynga are a bit symbiotic (for now, at least), seeing as about 12 percent of Facebook's revenue comes from Zynga, so it makes sense that the company might try showing external ads first on the social gaming site. Facebook ads are evidently already flexible and deployable enough to operate on external sites, so it's only a matter of time until the company starts using what it knows about you to display ads all over the web, much like Google does. Facebook told Inside Social Games, "We will not be showing ads on other sites at this time.” The company has felt a lot of pressure since its IPO to continue creating revenue streams, because while CEO Mark Zuckerberg still owns a large chunk of the company himself, he's now responsible for appeasing shareholders.