The new Twitter stole tech headlines this week, but by now anyone who cares has heard all about it. So let’s talk about that other social media giant, Facebook.

 People have been trying to figure out how to successfully market products on Facebook for ages. Now, companies are starting to develop practical ways of turning a Facebook page into a virtual shop. Instead of just engaging fans with social media, but having to send them to a different site – like Etsy – to make purchases, it will all be in one place. This development has some predicting the social networking site will turn into a virtual shopping mall.

 A few big retailers, like 1-800-FLOWERS, have been selling via Facebook for some time. But the new platforms coming out offer a way for the small business or entrepreneur to make money as well.

One company making a splash with its Facebook e-tailing solution is ShopIgniter. True, it’s not the only company to offer a way to make a virtual storefront on Facebook, but it’s quite sleek, which may be why the company was able to land $3 million in venture capital and is über-confident of future growth.

Wazala also has thrown its hat in the social ecommerce ring. Originally developed as a way to turn a blog into a store, Wazala recently announced it, too, could do Facebook.

The big question is, will any of these companies find success? Will Facebook end up being the new mall? Time will tell. Ultimately, any that do will have to hit on a winning combination of design, functionality and ease-of-use.