At Facebook’s second annual f8 event yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote address and the subsequent workshops contained lots of valuable information to help developers get the most out of new and upcoming changes to the Facebook Platform. Below is a recap of the significant announcements that app developers need to be aware of.
New Profile Redesign
One important announcement was the official introduction of Facebook’s new profile changes, which Mark Zuckerberg explained as having derived from three main goals:1) to give people more power tools to share, 2) to reward applications that help people share, and 3) to simplify the site.
Essentially, Facebook is saying that they will reward meaningful, trustworthy and well-designed applications and penalize apps that are uninteresting or fail to comply with the Facebook guiding principals. Ben Ling, the company’s head of Platform Product Marketing, was then kind enough to go into detail on the specifics of those principals.
App Certification Programs
To formalize the reward/punishment system for app developers, Facebook also announced their intentions to launch a certification program, by which they’ll tag some apps as “Great Apps” and others with their “App Verification” certificate. These new programs are expected to give greater visibility to apps that “deliver value to the users and advance the Facebook Platform vision.”
“Great Apps” will be selected based on their adherence to Facebook’s guiding principals and a minimum user threshold. These apps will appear more like native Facebook apps and will have a closer working relationship with Facebook themselves. iLike and Causes have been selected as the first two “Great Apps.”
The “App Verification” certificate was created to “offer extra assurances to help users identify applications they can trust — applications that are secure, respectful and transparent, and have demonstrated commitment to compliance with Platform policies.”
The nomination process for both programs will open to developers in September.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Overall, the general feeling at the show was one of optimisim. What is being perceived as a wiser, more mature Facebook is making changes that everyone agrees is good for the entire ecosystem: the users, the developers, and Facebook themselves. Granted, it will become harder for black hat developers to quickly build up large user bases, but that just means it should be easier for legitimate developers who build highly engaging apps to float to the top.
The key is to start thinking more strategically then ever about creating compelling, meaningful applications. Do that, and the audiences will certainly follow.
As for the monetization part, that’s where we come in. It was evident from the buzz at our exhibit table yesterday just why so many of the top apps (about 75%) rely on our “Managed Offer Platform” to make money.
Quite simply, our system works because we’re embedded so deeply into the user experience. Rather than serving as a distraction from the social environment, our offers are baked right into it, helping enhance the meaning and interaction of the entire ecosystem.
Need more “Friends For Sale Coins” so you can buy more friends as pets? Take a free trial or fill out an online survey. Want more “GreenBucks” within (Lil) Green Patch so you can send the Foxglove rather than the White Daisy? Try downloading a ringtone or viewing a movie trailer. We’ve got over 1,000 highly relevant and targeted offers in our system, so users are bound to find something that’s right up their alley. And the deeply embedded nature of our offer platform is precisely what makes it perform so well from a monetization perspective.
For custom advice on how to adjust to new Facebook changes or how to monetize your app on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, hi5 or any other leading social network, drop us a line. We’ll put you in touch with one of our monetization experts to discuss a solution that’s right for you.
Filed under: events, facebook | Tagged: application developers, f8, facebook, offerpal, offerpal media
