Impact of social platforms on how we do commerce

I have been thinking about the impact of converting social/messaging networks into e-commerce platforms. A social network (facebook, instagram, snapchat) is viewed as a primary tool to stay engaged with immediate/extended circle of friends and family. It is usually common for people to create silos within a social network - silos for personal and professional relationships. While conducting commerce over social networks is an exciting opportunity, I see a few areas where customers might provide a push-back. It would be a significant challenge from a marketing perspective to convince users to let go off their resistance and look at social network as a vehicle for better commercial transactions. 

Push-back areas:

- Privacy: Most users view social networks as a personal space and just like people don't like unsolicited selling agents ringing doorbells of homes, people also do not appreciate unsolicited offers disrupting their social network experience. Evolving a non-intrusive e-commerce platform is critical for this initiative to take off

- Access to a wider network of potential buyers: Sellers like location based access of profiles beyond their immediate group of friends. Facebook had started an initiative called 'Market Place' which never really took off because sellers could never get access to a wide range of potential buyers in a selected area. Because Facebook did not want people to market offers to unknown people, it was difficult to market this service to sellers.

Opportunity: Facebook and other social networks are refocusing on 'marketplace concept' as peer-to-peer influence is the strongest influence that motivates customers to buy a select product or service. 

Social networks are now working on e-commerce platform for second-hand goods (peer to peer exchange) - a recent article of Wall Street Journal says that Facebook is re-activating the concept of 'Bazaar' to compete with a Craiglist or E-Bay (http://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-advances-bazaar-ambitions-1441323353?mod=WSJ_TechWSJD_moreTopStories)

One of the other interesting initiatives Facebook is working on is 'second degree influence marketing' 

Concept of 'second degree marketing' is as follows:

If Facebook notices that Joe has visited quiet a few car company websites, Facebook will reach out to Joe's closest friends and try to market 'Mazda' to them - that way when Joe and Jack (Joe's close friend) sit for a social get-together and the discussion about cars comes up, Jack is likely to recommend a Mazda test-drive. Essentially Facebook, with its vast social network, is trying to mask marketing offers in the form of peer advice (the trick is to do it in such a stealthy manner so as to make it sound completely natural).

Overall, although there are privacy issues, I see huge opportunities in combining social networks with e-commerce. We all have exciting times ahead...