Facebook Home’s killer app: Big, pretty advertisements

With all of Mark Zuckerberg’s talk about Facebook Home’s focus on people over apps, it’s easy to forget that Facebook holds something else above even people: advertising.

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During a Q&A session with reporters today, CEO Mark Zuckerberg answered the question that’s been on all of our cynical minds: Will Facebook Home’s Cover Feed be home to advertisements?

Zuckerberg’s surprisingly direct response: Yup!

“There are no ads in this yet. I’m sure that one day there will be,” he told reporters

While Facebook is being uncharacteristically candid with its responses so far, it’s tough to see how it couldn’t be.  Facebook is set to suck up 30 percent of mobile ad dollars this year, so obviously, advertising will be a core part of its plans with Home.

Cover Feed will represent a particularly attractive bit of real estate for advertisers, as they can take advantage of the large smartphone home screens of Android devices.

Facebook, like Amazon, has caught onto a very clear reality: The smartphone and tablet lockscreen is a largely untapped market for a potentially lucrative sort of advertising. Just don’t expect Facebook to run around broadcasting its plans to the world. Cover Feed advertising is sure to be far more subtle than that.