Facebook credits – putting the virtue into virtual currency

September 14, 2010

A progressive US cancer charity has become the first organisation – so says Mashable – to accept Facebook Credits in place of a donation.

The Stand Up 2 Cancer National Telethon, which was aired in the States on Friday night, gave viewers the chance to donate via virtual currency – aside from all the usual donation options.

When Facebook Credits were first introduced, they were a way for the social network to generate an income outside of ads and membership fees. When a member bought credits, Facebook took a cut; when the member spent them, the app in question got paid.

For the member, the currency opened up a world of social gaming possibilities; to-date there are more than 150 apps containing countless digital goods within Facebook.

On the one hand you have to take your hat off to Stand Up 2 Cancer. The charity is moving with the times, tapping into the zeitgeist and making charitable giving even more accessible.

Using Facebook as a platform enables users to share their donations on wall posts and extend the visibility of the campaign.

Stand Up 2 Cancer has turned dowdy old charity giving into a fun little game – just like FarmVille. Am I the only one that cringes just a little bit at that thought?

I think it’s the degrees of separation that gets me; we have to spend our actual money on virtual money to then submit via PayPal through a Facebook page. I’m not sure how close to the cause I’d feel if I did that.

And are we that cold-hearted that we need to assimilate donating money to a cancer charity with online gaming before we dip into our pockets?

The bottom line is that as a result of Stand Up 2 Cancer‘s actions, more money will be reaching a highly worthy cause. The 279 ‘Likes’ Mashable has already received for this story pay lip service to this.

Scoffing aside, my hat is raised – and my gut-reaction cringe will no doubt fade with time.

Related articles by Zemanta

Latest Posts

Yep – it’s a 101 for finding out if your B2B social campaigns and content are delivering. Think you know it all? Think again. The sands of marketing are shifting…again. Aligning metrics and business objectives. Most B2B marketers can tell you the engagement rate. And they certainly know the level…
Read More
Meta has started rolling ads into Threads timelines globally from late January 2026. That’s the moment Threads stops being a side app and becomes a paid, recommendation-led public square. Threads has passed 400 million monthly active users, and Meta has put daily actives at around 150 million. The strategic implication for B2C and B2B is the same; distribution gets easier to buy, credibility gets harder to earn. Threads rewards coherence in public conversation, how you answer, how you sound, how specific you are. Treat it as a trust surface, because that’s where decisions get shaped now.
Read More
Feeds are getting tired of “perfect”. A lot of the most interesting work going into 2026 is reacting against hyper-digital polish with visuals that feel more handled: scanned textures, mismatched elements, collecting layouts, and deliberate “imperfections” that make the human hand visible again. That matters for social, because audiences clock…
Read More