Facebook has added a new friend, a profitable one at that. bsocial network, a social networking software company, has created a consumer to consumer (c2c) facebook application in which you recommend products to friends and in exchange; you make money when they buy. It’s like your own froogle wishing list; only better. This is what MSNBC has to say about the social networking widget, Market Lodge.

A new application aims to inject more commerce into the social playground by paying Facebook members who help merchants sell to their friends. The program, called Market Lodge, revolves around the notion that consumers are more likely to buy merchandise or services recommended by someone they know and trust.

This comes at a perfect time when Social Networking has exploded over the Internet with creation of sites like Facebook, Myspace and even YouTube. Bill Eager, Market Lodge Co-founder, estimates there will be as many as 250,000 sites that call themselves social networks within a year, compared with about 850 today. “Everyone will reposition their site to take advantage of this phenomenon. It happened before with portals.”

The concept is not new. Amway started it door to door (my father was really into Amway; if that says anything); it’s taking an old idea and making it innovative by incorporating Social Network aspect of it which can be exponentially rewarding. So how does Market Lodge exactly work?

Facebook members who decide to use Market Lodge can customize their own stores, selecting from more than 1,200 products sold by about 50 different merchants. You can even start selling event tickets online which has just been incorporated into the application.

Once the personal store is set up, Facebook users can then invite others in their network to check out the stuff they’re recommending. Market Lodge users can make purchases from their own stores and still qualify for the 10 percent sales commission.

All the inventory, order processing and delivery arrangements are handled by the merchants — just as they would be for any other sale.

Market Lodge itself is creating a massive buzz which has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, ECommerceTimes, as well as it’s own podcast from Wall Street Journal. Even green blogs like the Accidental Environmentalist have taken notice. Even if you don’t have a facebook account, you can still try out Market Lodge. Just go directly to the site and in five minutes; presto, your own ecommerce store awaits.

Sources:

USA Today

Ecommerce Times

MSNBC

Header Image Credit: Flickr VaXzine