The mysterious world of Facebook apps, cont’d
October 4th, 2009 | by elisabeth | Published in Facebook, Future of the Internet | 1 Comment
Thanks for all the great comments (here, and in replies directly to JZ on FB and Twitter) on why Facebook apps haven’t taken off the way, say, iPhone apps have. I thought I’d try to summarize some of the dominant themes to think about whether the problem is inherent or created by Facebook itself.
1. The platform offers fewer capabilities than non-Facebook apps or mobile apps; no rich interfaces; documentation and support is poor. The platform changes too often. It’s true that Facebook can’t take advantage of all the functionality that comes with mobility, and if an app doesn’t require mobility, there’s rarely a reason to develop it for Facebook instead of for the Internet generally. The documentation and support problems, though, are self-created.
2. There just aren’t that many opportunities for social apps beyond messaging, taking quizzes, and graphing your friends’ data. And apps aren’t crucial to the core Facebook experience. Maybe there’s some truth here, but I think the dearth of current good apps limits the imagination. Every now and then I’ll see something that seems uniquely suited to Facebook—say, a ridesharing application that allows you to arrange carpools with people you might not think to email and ask, but who aren’t complete strangers. Some of the data-compilation is also fascinating from a social-scientist perspective. If Facebook wanted to go around giving out prizes for the best app, I think they’d get some really cool stuff. As for the core Facebook experience, I think it’s very malleable (remember that Newsfeed didn’t always exist?).
3. There may be opportunities for good social apps, but we don’t know how to share data in a way that’s useful and respects privacy. This strikes me as a very valid point. Facebook has repeatedly lost credibility and trust in data-sharing disasters, notably Beacon, and apps still seek and distribute more data than they should. Even worse, they mess with people’s friends’ data. So users aren’t inclined to give app developers the benefit of doubt in releasing their information. This seems like a prime opportunity for Facebook or users to develop clear, enforceable privacy guidelines and explain how they relate to application development.
4. Because of the privacy concerns, there isn’t an efficient distribution network. As all of those quasi-viral apps proved back in the early days of Facebook appdom, it’s easy to strong-arm distribution of an app to thousands or millions of people. But users will also be upset when they figure out they’re essentially spamming their friends. The problem is to figure out how to encourage wide uptake without bombarding people with unwanted invitations or turning people into accidental spammers. (A related concern is that, as long as the spammy apps to dominate, people won’t want to go anywhere near the whole system.) I actually think app distribution is an area where Facebook is well-positioned relative to the Internet at large—it would be easy for Facebook to promote and collect popular apps in a way that would encourage people to download them (as the iPhone does). But they’ve chosen not to do that.
5. Apps have taken off; it’s a multi-million dollar industry. True, actually; virtual goods are a huge business, and the top apps have upwards of 20 million users. (Data here, and that website is probably the best for Facebook-related data.) Still, as the original article I posted pointed out, the redesign has hurt many developers. And, anecdotally, apps are just such a minor part of many users’ experience—even if a lot of money is being made now, that’s no reason not to try to make more.
The most open question here is whether social networking apps really have anything to offer. Beyond that, most of the concerns could be resolved by a social network management that really wanted to encourage application uptake. As far as Facebook goes, though, the new Facebook Connect system seems to aggravate many of these problems, particularly the lack of transparency and the privacy concerns (and the fact that it’s described so confusingly I can’t figure out what it actually does). But there’s a market to build here, whether Facebook is the one to build it or not.
—By Elisabeth Oppenheimer
October 4th, 2009 at 7:26 pm (#)
on #1&2 I agree that current apps limit the imagination, but I don’t agree with the point that without mobility, there’s no reason to use FB instead of the open Internet.
Think about netflix, how many friends do you have on there? If you’re like most folks, you have a handful, and you’re loath to spend the time to connect with more folks solely for movies.
Think of facebook as a highly sophisticated interactive, community/set of contacts and you’ll think of tons of applications.
One of the richest areas is actually slicing and dicing all that information. It’s pretty clear that vastly more granularity is needed. It’s not just “friend” or “not friend” there are close friends, there are people I went to high school, there are work colleagues.
There’s plenty to do, its just the API is poor and not targeted at enough of the richest areas.