Facebook charged advertisers $300,000 a quarter for a sponsored group; its take from pay-per-click ads promoting Facebook pages is far less certain. But sponsored groups were sold by Facebook's small team of human salespeople; Facebook Pages ads are sold through an automated, self-service system akin to Google's AdWords.

Facebook's hire of Sheryl Sandberg, who oversaw AdWords at Google, was one sign Facebook would be betting on automated advertising. The abandonment of the lucrative sponsored groups is another.

Zuckerberg seems cocksure about the payoff from Social Ads. He has told employees that Facebook will bring in between $300 million and $350 million in revenue this year, a swift increase from last year, when revenues from sponsored groups sustained the company. He seems confident that change is coming. Perhaps so. But for the impatient young man, who will turn 24 in 12 days, will it come fast enough?

The whole idea behind free Facebook Pages for musicians, business and brands is to get them in the door, get them hooked, and get them to pay for ads to promote their page. Don't expect Ping Pong Music to open their wallet anytime soon now. "It just upsets me a little to think they could let this happen," our source tells us.