Facebook’s extra vision

We know that Facebook has its own currency, most often ‘spent’ and traded in games like Farmville, and we know that the social network has ambitious plans to make it a traded currency in the ever-expanding Facebook market. Now film fans in the US will have the chance to rent Warner Bros. movies using Facebook credits and view the movies through their accounts.
Starting today, Facebook users can rent ‘The Dark Knight’ via its official movie fan page. It will cost 30 Facebook credits ($3) and those who rent it will have access to it for 48 hours.
“Making our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts. It gives consumers a simple, convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the world’s largest social network,” says Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.
While this initial offering will be a test bed for both Warners and Facebook, its similarity to renting films via the iTunes store will not be lost on Steve Jobs.
Facebook has the potential to become one of the largest online markets in the world and has already dipped its toes into retail. How digitally native film buffs will react to renting films using Facebook credits is another matter. Bit torrents and illegal file sharing are a normal part of their digital world.
Warner Bros. will offer more movies for rent via Facebook in the coming weeks and months and the service is initially for the US market only. How this venture pans out remains to be seen but there’s little stopping all the major film distribution outlets offering something similar and undercutting the iTunes store with the help of Facebook’s powerful network.