There are a lot of cynics and skeptics out there who think Facebook is a great place for social networking, but not a great place to make money. One company in particular has proven them wrong, not by putting up mass-appeal banner ads, but by targeting extremely specific demographics and showing them products that they might actually want to buy.
That's how it's supposed to work, isn't it? Advertising isn't supposed to be a nuisance - annoying popup ads for products that you don't want don't do anybody any good. But if a friend of yours knows that you live in New York and like Ethopian food, and they let you know about a new restaurant you might be interested in, and even give you a coupon, that's a different story.
Facebook has a lot of info about a lot of people, and without going into privacy issues here, that's useful in terms of targeting ads. So they feel less like spam and more like suggestions that might actually be useful. And that's good for everyone.
