Need a bike?

Online classifieds ad vendor Oodle is taking the reins on Facebooks's "Marketplace" application, according to Oodle CEO Craig Donato.

Donato feels Facebook users and advertisers will benefit from Oodle's capacity to serve as a "weirdo filter" — that is, to stalwartly protect both sides from having to deal with unsavory advertisers or content providers. Oodle will also use Marketplace to provide advertisers with insights on relevant Facebook demographics.

"We think this is very big opportunity to approach online classifieds with the idea in mind that it is a very social experience," Donato stated, echoing Facebook's "engagement is key" maxim.

"With classifieds, you hook up with the buyers online, but it always ends in face-to-face interaction. It always has this social component."

In Donato's imagination, the Facebook Marketplace of the future enables sellers to market only to audiences they "know something about." It may also evolve into a bulletin-style community for users, which can sell or give items to each other — much like craigslist, a site used by locals to barter old furniture or books.

"If my kid outgrows his bike, I'm not going to sell it. But I might give it to friends who have a kid," Donato pointed out.

Oodle will take over Marketplace sometime next year. Donato provided no specifics on its profit-sharing arrangement with Facebook, but ClickZ suggested bid-based ad placement could somehow be incorporated.

Oodle aggregates over 500,000 listings per day across 80,000 sites.