CORP TALK: Facebook users…rejoice. The social networking service has decided to end its Beacon marketing program.

According to this Associated Press report, picked up by news publishers worldwide, the Beacon marketing program was launched two years ago to track user activities at partner Web sites.  The intention of the program was to help users keep their friends informed on their interests when they visit participating sites, thus becoming “trusted referrals” and drive sales.

While users were able to decline this tracking on a site-by-site basis, the warning prompt was too brief (a 20-second pop-up at the corner of Web browsers), causing many to complain.

In August 2008, 19 Facebook users filed a lawsuit against not just Facebook, but Beacon program partner sites like Blockbuster Inc., Fandango and others. The defendants were accused of disclosing users’ personal information for advertising purposes without their consent.

The closure of the Beacon program was part of the proposed settlement agreement.

While Beacon was unsuccessful, a new service called Facebook Coneect emerged. Instead of letting Facebook and advertisers control the information, this service gives users the control to share their post-Facebook site visits via their Facebook log-ins.

Facebook currently has a multi-year partnership with Nielsen, which basically persuades advertisers to spend more money promoting their brands on the site.

According to a Facebook board member, the company of 300-million plus users is expected to bring in more than US$500 million in revenue this year — enough to cover the 5-year old company’s operating expenses.