Pages Failing?

Participation in Facebook's nascent Pages tool is anemic so far. Of the companies involved with the launch, only Verizon has garnered a respectable set of Fans, at 10,700. As for the others:

• 460 fans for Coke
• 300 for Blockbuster
• 179 for Microsoft

CBS doesn't even have a Page though they are mentioned.

The Pages platform is weak. It's good for the little guy, but a major player will find it too limiting. The biggest issue with it is that whatever network is created within it is stuck in Facebook. There is no ability to append the list of "Fans" to other sources - this is especially problematic in politics, but also limiting for any organization with a direct mail / direct-to-consumer operation. A strong database is at the heart of a solid consumer / voter contact operation, and yet information garnered within Facebook remains separate.

This doesn't bode well for the political supporter profiles that now reside within this system (they were moved to Pages shortly after its launch in November). Other than through the occasional update, campaigns are unable to use their Facebook network elsewhere. Campaigns must innovate with the Facebook API if they hope to realize the value that exists within the 20 million + existing US Facebook users...