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Zynga users may have noticed something unfamiliar on the Web site -- Facebook ads have crept over to the gaming platform's site, filling the space that used to house Google ads.

The change was first noticed by Inside Facebook and it has the media speculating up a storm about whether this is the beginning of Facebook's advertising service empire.

Now when you connect with Facebook on Zynga.com, you'll see personalized ads and sponsored stories just like they appear in Facebook, the social network says. According to Facebook, you'll see only sponsored stores about activity that'… Read more

If a judge approves Facebook's settlement of a class-action lawsuit regarding "sponsored stories," the social network will give users more control over the advertising tool, which features users' profile photos and other information in ads for businesses and products the users have "Liked."

Reuters reported today that the settlement agreement includes giving users the ability to determine what, if any, user information can be featured in ads, and adding new language to Facebook's guidelines informing users of sponsored ads, according to court documents filed Wednesday. TechCrunch reported that user opt-outs will apparently apply on … Read more

The terms of a legal settlement regarding Facebook's "sponsored stories" feature emerged this weekend, according to a report: the social-networking juggernaut agreed to pay $10 million to charity to lay the matter to rest.

Reuters reported the news today, drawing from court documents it said were just made public.

The suit -- in which five Facebook users claimed the site violated California law and their right to privacy by publicizing their "likes" in advertisements without asking them, compensating them, or allowing them to opt out -- was settled toward the end of May.

U.S. … Read more

Facebook has settled a lawsuit over its "sponsored stories" feature, in which plaintiffs claimed the social network violated users' right to privacy by publicizing their "likes" in advertisements without asking them or compensating them.

Details of the settlement weren't released, Reuters reported. The judge in the case last year rejected a Facebook request to dismiss the lawsuit and had scheduled a hearing on class-action certification for Thursday.

Facebook's sponsored-stories ads essentially display a user's name, picture, and a tagline asserting that the person "likes" a particular advertiser. These particular ads initially … Read more

Just one month ago, Tumblr CEO David Karp announced that displaying ads was the "complete last resort" for the microblogging service. Well, financial temptation must have gotten the better of him.

Tumblr announced the introduction of Tumblr Radar and Tumblr Spotlight today, which are two types of advertising products available to sponsors for an entry-level price of $25,000, according to VentureBeat. Although this is an about-face to what Karp said last month, there are still some conditions for potential advertisers.

First, the advertisers must be "approved" by Tumblr. Second, they must be willing to shell … Read more

Facebook began inserting advertisements directly into users' news feeds today.

There won't be a lot of ads--just one per day--but they will be unsolicited. Instead of being on the right hand side of the page and marked "sponsored," they will appear randomly within users' news feeds and be labeled "featured."

According to Facebook's Help Center, "Businesses can pay to feature a post so there's a better chance you'll notice it." As an example, the Help Center writes, "Say you like your gym's Facebook Page. Some friends see the … Read more

Facebook has kicked off a new Web page explaining how and why the social network depends on advertising.

On its "About Advertising on Facebook," page, the company says it spends more than $1 billion each year to run its business, and so it relies on ads to pay the bills.

Addressing one touchy topic, Facebook stressed that it doen't sell your personal information to advertisers but rather makes its money from displaying the ads.

"Selling your information would actually be bad for Facebook. Here's why: Facebook was created to help you share and connect with … Read more

Facebook is aiming to ramp up the impact of its sponsored story ads by including them in your regular news feed starting next month.

Splashing onto the social network last January, sponsored stories are ads that tout brands and businesses based on the likes of you and your friends.

Generated when a Facebook member clicks on the "like" button for a certain page, the ads display the friend's name, photo, and a tagline proclaiming that the person likes a certain advertiser.

So far, sponsored stories have been relegated to the right side of your Facebook page along … Read more

Google+ introduces improvements just before the holidays, text-sending teens increase their data usage by 256 percent over last year, and a federal judge rules that a lawsuit targeting Facebook's "sponsored stories" can proceed.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded: