Facebook could unveil mobile ad network at its F8 conference

World’s biggest social networking site Facebook could very soon unveil its very own mobile ad network. If reports are to be believed, the unveiling could happen at Facebook’s F8 developers conference that will take place in San Francisco on April 30.   According to Re/code, Facebook will be looking to leverage data of its billion-plus users in a bid to lure marketers and advertisers, and for the first time ever, Facebook user data could be used for ads outside of Facebook on a large scale. Simply put, Facebook will be unveiling a rival to Google’s AdMob.   Facebook’s new venture does not come as a surprise as it has been long rumoured to be contemplating this move. Earlier this year Facebook said that it is displaying ads from a small group of marketers on other companies’ smartphone apps.   The report further adds, “In the last three months of 2013, mobile ads generated $1.24 billion for Facebook — more than half the company’s overall ad revenue. And we’ll get another peek at how well that business is doing when Facebook reports its first-quarter earnings later this week.”   Until very recently Facebook has tried to sell only through ads displayed on its site. But with the mobile platform gaining prominence, it was only a matter of time before Facebook decided to make the most of its huge user base. Facebook generates the bulk of its revenue from ads that appear on its own pages and in the Facebook mobile app. It has experimented with offering ads beyond the confines of its own social networking website in the past, including an effort last year in which it partnered with other ad networks and a previous experiment with social game company Zynga Inc.   Although Facebook has advantage due to its huge user base, it already has some tough competition awaiting it. It will be locking horns with the likes of Google AdMob mobile network, Twitter MoPub ad network.   Selling ads that appear in mobile apps and outside of Facebook’s own Website will provide Facebook with a massive new source of revenue. Ad networks, which distribute online ads across websites and apps, typically share a portion of the ad revenue with their partners, so advertisers, Websites and developers also stand to gain in terms of revenue.  Of course, we will know final details of the Facebook ad network post the F8 conference.