Facebook Takes Aim at Target

Hey, I don’t suppose you’re the type to buy people gift cards for special occasions, are you? Cuz, like, not to peg you as a lazy douche or anything, but you might be interested to know that Facebook Credits giftcards are soon gonna start showing up at the checkout at your local Target.

The cards will allow your thoughtless self to say ‘I have no idea what you like’ in amounts of $15, $25 and $50, and absolve you completely of any mind or effort required to provide a loved one a truly unique gift. Besides, of course, the effort required to visit your local Target – overlooking the fact that you could just visit Target.com.

Nah, I’m just having a laugh. You’re alright. In all seriousness, I kinda scratched my head, too. What the hell does Facebook need credits for, right? I hear that. As Techi readers are clearly cool, smart, attractive people, they probably don’t play Farmville/Mobville/Cakeville/Townville etc, and all that. I can see how you’d forget. I did.

But that’s exactly what the Credits are for: to add lines of code to a user’s Farmville account to purchase all manner of farm-fresh Zynga products, and the like. It’s estimated that more than 200 million people are up on Facebook’s social ‘gaming’ scene (quotations because, as a gamer, arranging flowers on a Facebook page isn’t a game so much as a joke), and an increasing number are beginning to pay hard-earned sweetcoin on the aforementioned lines of code premium goods. So giftcards are likely the perfect way for Facebook to cash in.

But wait – doesn’t Zynga already have its own giftcards? Doesn’t Farmville have its own giftcards? Of course. Everything has its own giftcards. I guess now you can just choose your poison.

In any case, Facebook’s aiming to have these hit Target by the holiday season. It’ll be a blue Christmas, for sure.