Posts Tagged ‘facebook apps’

Facebook Introducing an App Center and Paid Apps

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

On Wednesday, Facebook announced that it will be launching its own app center, as well as paid Facebook apps. The center will be built into its website as well as the iOS and Android Facebook apps. While the app center may look very similar to Apple’s App Store or Google Play, it will not try to compete with them and will operate quite differently.

Facebook App Center

In the past, there was no place to browse listings of Facebook apps or mobile apps that use Facebook Login. People mostly find out about apps through advertisements, word of mouth, reading about apps on websites and blogs, and by seeing stories in their news feeds about what friends are playing. Users could also find out about mobile apps that used Facebook Login by browsing the app store on their mobile device. Soon, we will be able to see all of the apps that meet Facebook’s guidelines listed in one place.

All apps will have a details page that gives users information about the app and what makes it unique, in addition to ratings. Quality and ratings will play a huge role in the success of an app, as VentureBeat says in addition to gathered user ratings, Facebook will also collect data on user behaviors such as how long they stay on the app and how often they come back to it. Facebook will give developers access to this data through a new Insights report. High-quality apps will be prominently featured in the app center, while that don’t meet quality guidelines or receive poor user ratings will not be featured.

While it may seem like this app center would compete with those by Apple and Google, it will actually work with them. A lot of the apps featured in the app center, such as Words With Friends or Draw Something, are also mobile apps that need to be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play. The post on the Facebook Developer Blog states:

“The App Center is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook – whether they’re on iOS, Android or the mobile web. From the mobile App Center, users can browse apps that are compatible with their device, and if a mobile app requires installation, they will be sent to download the app from the App Store or Google Play.”

Paid Facebook Apps

In addition to announcing the Facebook App Center, the blog post also had information about the introduction of paid apps. While apps have long been able to have in-app purchases to make money, all apps have previously been free to use. In the coming weeks, we will begin to see apps that charge a flat fee to use, in which Facebook will receive 30% of the transactions.

Are you looking forward to being able to discover new apps more easily? Can you see yourself paying to use a Facebook app?

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Facebook Shuts Down Break-Up Notifier App

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

It’s been quite a headline-grabbing week for Facebook, what with babies being named after it and employers demanding usernames and passwords for prospective employees and all.

Then there is this week’s saga of the Break-Up Notifier Facebook application which launched with massive popularity, then creeped a bunch of people out, then was promptly shut down for vague reasons.

The app is quite genius and works off the assumption that people are interested in their friends’ relationship statuses. Some may be more interested in others and like to dabble in a little bit of what we call “FB stalking”, which means constantly checking-up on the situation of a particular victim – er, friend.

In no time, 3 million people downloaded the app and launched creator Dan Loewenherz into the news with his story of how the idea materialized. Turns out, it stemmed from a joke to his fiance’s sister about whether she’d like to be notified if he ever became available. Some stories are better left untold, Dan.

But then something strange happened. Headlines all over began labeling the app as a “stalking device” and “creepy”. Sure, maybe its purpose serves those with creepy stalking tendencies, but isn’t it more creepy to have your profile looked at 43 times a day rather than being the subject of an alert that may never come (OK, it’s probably a tie)? Still, Guns don’t kill people and apps don’t stalk people.

And who is worried about being stalked? You mean the people who broadcast their relationship status for everyone to see? The same people who happily let “_______ is now single” run through their friends’ news feed the moment they get in a fight with their significant other?

Users have the option to include or leave out whatever information they wish. Users also have the ability to allow or disallow who has access to that information. “Stalking” problem solved.

As of right now, it’s all for naught. Facebook shut the app and Loewenherz’s profile down Wednesday and sent him an email with thinly-veiled references to user reports and spam. He says he is willing to work with Facebook to get it back up and running.

If not, then it looks like we’ll have to go back to the old fashioned FB stalking methods.

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Facebook and its Never-Ending Privacy Issues

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Facebook’s announcement that it will suspend the debut of a new feature allowing app developers to gain access to users’ home addresses and phone numbers leads them to a pivotal point.

Without question, the rise of the social network has been marred with controversies about its user privacy settings.

In this latest episode, a change to the ‘Request for Permission’ box that appears when a user attempts to download a third-party app included a notification that contact information would be accessible to app developers upon download.

As always, there are two sides to consider. Users and privacy advocates are worried that these slight modifications are another example in a long line of complaints of shadiness related to the privacy of user information and content. They worry such minor adjustments just go unnoticed and users unknowingly subscribe to giving away their info.

It’s an understandable gripe, but it’s not like there isn’t notice about what they are doing. Just because it may be hard to detect the difference from the usual request, you can’t really blame Facebook for the inattentiveness of users, can you?

Unlike previous mishaps where Facebook essentially told users “we own your stuff, deal with it”, this instance gives users two simple options – Allow or Don’t Allow. Simply excluding personal information from the user profile is an easy option as well.

Facebook’s argument is that on top of being subject to the agreement of the user, apps only retrieve information required for it to run, Facebook spokesperson Malorie Lucich told ReadWriteWeb.

Facebook’s message about the postponement of the changes said they heard the complaints loud and clear and plan to alter the feature to better disclose what submitted information is used for. Exactly how they will carry out this plan isn’t known yet.

As Facebook grows, it’s going to seek more ways to earn profit. As a giant hub of personal information, it offers third-party sites a chance to gain exposure to users they feel they could best cash in on. It’s a natural marriage, but is Facebook getting too big for its britches, so to speak?

What started as a place for you to connect and share with who you choose is becoming a place where – if you will allow it (and unfortunately sometimes when you don’t) – your information is being shared for commercial gains.

Maybe they can toe that line without mishandling the personal information of its users. If so, now is the time to prove it.

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