Today, Facebook announced plans to give the world’s biggest internet search engines access to user profiles. And while the online community received cheers for opening its doors to .edu-less networkers just last year, the site’s latest invited guests are being greeted with a lot less enthusiasm. Perhaps because this promising new revenue stream seems like an about-face for loyal users who value Facebook’s exclusive, by-invitation-only brand. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg might want to consider Brandweek’s advice on balancing brand identity with business opportunity instead.

A recent survey found that 3- to 5-year-old children believe food wrapped in McDonald’s packaging tastes better than the same food minus the wrapper with the golden arches. If a child can identify and establish a relationship with a brand that early in life, there is no doubt that targeting children early to create lifelong bias toward a brand is key for marketers. Given the the ongoing discussion linking childhood obesity with food industry marketing, however, an ever-growing population of advertisers (NYT free reg. req.) is finding that more responsible advertising standards are healthier for everyone.

What’s the value of a brand? If you’re talking about Harry Potter, a lot. (Put in mathematical terms - an estimated $4 billion.) After ten years, J.K. Rowling’s popular series has sold over 250 million copies worldwide, placing it third on the all-time bestsellers list (after The Bible and The Thoughts of Chairman Mao). Fans are the first to attest they’re good stories, but BusinessWeek claims the series’ unstopability doesn’t rest on storytelling alone. Wave your wand (muggles should just click here) to reveal the four secrets to Harry Potter’s success.

These days, shifting markets are about as certain for businesses as death and taxes are to the rest of us. Unlike death (and maybe taxes) they can be survived—it’s all a matter of knowing how to listen to the consumer. Companies that change their offerings based solely on the bottom line—watering down or wandering from the brand in the process—are not the ones likely to survive. Those that do (Western Union, LG and Intel, for instance) are the ones that take the long view, study local and global trends, and look for market opportunities consistent with their brand identity. Even if the old product doesn’t survive, the company—and its brand—will.

Uncle Ben, rice-purveyor extraordinare, has been named chairman of the board (NYT free reg. req.). In a move to update the brand’s traditionally passive figurehead, the Mars company has given Mr. Ben (they’ve also done away with the derogatory “uncle” moniker) a posh new office on the newly redesigned Web site. Mars is convinced the move is a step in the right direction, but the change has vocal critics. Decide for yourself – check it out at unclebens.com