4 ms·

The Facebook Platform is dead

ComputerGuru 18y ago
Both as a developer and as a university student, I can testify that this is certainly true. Good and spammy apps alike have suffered greatly, and the FB Platform is deader than ever.
evdawg 18y ago
Good! It was turning into myspace...
timcederman 18y ago
I for one couldn't be happier. I think long-term this is a good thing for Facebook users and the site's growth. Not so sure about the company's bottom line though.
jfarmer 18y ago
There were signs of this back in May: http://20bits.com/2008/05/06/the-state-of-the-facebook-platform/ http://20bits.com/2008/05/06/the-state-of-the-facebook-platf... It was only a matter of time before Facebook put the final nail in the coffin. Given how Facebook rolled out the Platform it was the correct strategic choice, IMO. They made it too easy for third-parties like Slide and RockYou to come in and set up shop, effectively ceding control of part of the social graph. There's a reason Apple is taking the opposite approach to distribution, starting out by being too restrictive and easing up as the marketplace matures.
thorax 18y ago
I always wondered whether or not Facebook would have done better to have an "App Store" instead of nothing but free apps. Perhaps it would have worked out better in some ways.
- charlesju 18y ago
  I don't think there are many if any applications that I'd pay for to use on the Facebook network.
- jamiequint 18y ago
  I think that in most cases payment-required apps would hinder the whole purpose of the platform, social interaction. Although, if Facebook did do it, I'd start the "I Am Rich App" only $10,000 to join, who's in?
charlesju 18y ago
I actually would argue that the new Facebook platform is better for developers because it takes a strong stand to increase user engagement by forcing developers to provide actual value, instead of relying on spam. And although user growth has decreased because the new users and existing users are using applications with higher value, they are more willing to become paying users. I go into a lot more detail on my recent blog post: http://www.charlesju.com/2008/10/3-reasons-why-new-facebook-is-better.html http://www.charlesju.com/2008/10/3-reasons-why-new-facebook-...
- jfarmer 18y ago
  "they are more willing to become paying users." Evidence? I would expect higher engagement and more valuable users to equate to an increase eCPM, but according to Scott's slides we've seen the opposite.
  - charlesju 18y ago
    2 words. Virtual Goods. http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/25/can-you-guess-which-facebook-app-is-making-a-million-dollars-a-month-i-can/ http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/25/can-you-guess-which-fac...
ivank 18y ago
My relatively small, non-spammy application took a 20% hit from its perfectly linear growth, but I'm already back to July's levels. Things never halved and are certainly not dead.
- fallentimes 18y ago
  >My relatively small, non-spammy application Already sounds like the minority. Glad you're doing well though.
geuis 18y ago
good riddance.
zby 18y ago
I've tried programming the platform and I found it utterly frustrating. It is so eclectic and baroque that it is very hard to build a mental model about it - and deduce what are the real limitations of the messaging model. The documentation is copious but sometimes contradicting itself, often outdated and not well organized.
jyothi 18y ago
Build connect sites now, Plan for independence

Both as a developer and as a university student, I can testify that this is certainly true. Good and spammy apps alike have suffered greatly, and the FB Platform is deader than ever.

evdawg 18y ago

Good! It was turning into myspace...

timcederman 18y ago

I for one couldn't be happier. I think long-term this is a good thing for Facebook users and the site's growth. Not so sure about the company's bottom line though.

jfarmer 18y ago

There were signs of this back in May: http://20bits.com/2008/05/06/the-state-of-the-facebook-platform/ http://20bits.com/2008/05/06/the-state-of-the-facebook-platf... It was only a matter of time before Facebook put the final nail in the coffin. Given how Facebook rolled out the Platform it was the correct strategic choice, IMO. They made it too easy for third-parties like Slide and RockYou to come in and set up shop, effectively ceding control of part of the social graph. There's a reason Apple is taking the opposite approach to distribution, starting out by being too restrictive and easing up as the marketplace matures.

thorax 18y ago

I always wondered whether or not Facebook would have done better to have an "App Store" instead of nothing but free apps. Perhaps it would have worked out better in some ways.

charlesju 18y ago
I don't think there are many if any applications that I'd pay for to use on the Facebook network.
jamiequint 18y ago
I think that in most cases payment-required apps would hinder the whole purpose of the platform, social interaction. Although, if Facebook did do it, I'd start the "I Am Rich App" only $10,000 to join, who's in?

charlesju 18y ago

I actually would argue that the new Facebook platform is better for developers because it takes a strong stand to increase user engagement by forcing developers to provide actual value, instead of relying on spam. And although user growth has decreased because the new users and existing users are using applications with higher value, they are more willing to become paying users. I go into a lot more detail on my recent blog post: http://www.charlesju.com/2008/10/3-reasons-why-new-facebook-is-better.html http://www.charlesju.com/2008/10/3-reasons-why-new-facebook-...

jfarmer 18y ago
"they are more willing to become paying users." Evidence? I would expect higher engagement and more valuable users to equate to an increase eCPM, but according to Scott's slides we've seen the opposite.
- charlesju 18y ago
  2 words. Virtual Goods. http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/25/can-you-guess-which-facebook-app-is-making-a-million-dollars-a-month-i-can/ http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/25/can-you-guess-which-fac...

ivank 18y ago

My relatively small, non-spammy application took a 20% hit from its perfectly linear growth, but I'm already back to July's levels. Things never halved and are certainly not dead.

fallentimes 18y ago
>My relatively small, non-spammy application Already sounds like the minority. Glad you're doing well though.

geuis 18y ago

good riddance.

zby 18y ago

I've tried programming the platform and I found it utterly frustrating. It is so eclectic and baroque that it is very hard to build a mental model about it - and deduce what are the real limitations of the messaging model. The documentation is copious but sometimes contradicting itself, often outdated and not well organized.

jyothi 18y ago

Build connect sites now, Plan for independence