Facebook is holding a massive press/developer event today in San Francisco to officially launch Facebook Platform. 750 or so people are here.
A number of third party applications will also be announced, including Microsoft, Amazon, Slide, RockYou, Box.net, Red Bull, Washington Post, Project Agape, Prosper, Snapvine, iLike, PicksPal, Digg, Plum and others. Seventy companies in total are currently developing applicaitons. Mark Zuckerberg goes on stage at 3 pm to make the official announcement, and I’ll be blogging live from here.
Facebook is giving an unprecedented amount of access to developers. The API would allow, for example, a third party to recreate Facebook Photos, the most used photo application on the web. Users could then remove the default Facebook Photos and install the third party version instead.
Applications can serve their own ads and/or conduct transactions with users. Ads can basically be shown anywhere that Microsoft ads are not currently shown.
There will be a special applications area on Facebook where users can browse and add third party apps. But there is also a crucial viral component – when a friend adds an application, it is noted in their news stream on their profile. Clicking on the item brings you to the app, where you can add and/or interact with it yourself.
Users will also be adding applications to their site, where others can click and add it to their own profile. The apps will essentially look like any other Facebook application.
The payoff is two way. Not only do developers get deep access to Facebook’s twenty million users, Facebook also becomes a rich platform for third party applications.
Facebook’s strategy is almost the polar opposite from MySpace. While MySpace frets over third party widgets, alternatively shutting them down or acquiring them, Facebook is now opening up its core functions to all outside developers.
Notes from Zuckerberg Keynote:
Facebook is growing 3% per week, which is 100,000 new users per day.
The fastest growing demographic is the 25 and up age group.
50% of registered users come back to the site every day.
Talking about how Facebook opened up registrations last year, and launched News Feed.
Facebook is generating more than 40 billion page views per month. That’s 50 pages per user every day.
6th most trafficked site in the U.S.
More page views than eBay. Says they are targeting Google next.
Applications: photos, groups, events. Plug into profiles. Use all the real connections people have
Their photos app is by far the number one photo site on the internet.
Events: similar story. 3x more ppeople invited to events thru facebook than evite.
Says these apps work so well because of the “social graph” – a network of connections through which people share information with friends.
The news feed feature in particular allows information to be pushed out through the social network to more people, faster than any time in history.
Deep intergation, significant freedom to monetize via ads and transactions.
Dan Lewin, Microsoft VP, on stage talking about integration of Popfly into Facebook.
Amazon exec on stage
Max Levchin, CEO Slide on stage.
Anything anti-MySpace goes up a notch in my books!
On a side note, I wonder if MySpace has any plans on releasing an API themselves? Now, THAT would be interesting to see. Thoughts?
http://www.kinggary.com/
This is definitely going to be huge. To all you widget developers, on your mark, get set, deploy!
Where is the event being held and is it public?
how will these new apps be represented visually? as widgets on a user’s profile page, i’m guessing?
Can’t wait to hear more
yea I know hey
TechCrunch widget =)
Facebook is the walled garden of all walled gardens. Mark must have been racking his brain to find new ways to add traction to the system without running afoul of his user base (as he has done several times in the past).
Becoming the ultimate portal for the generation of social networking applications is a really smart move on his part now that he has opened the network to all.
The one thing that facebook has always been missing is the ability to deeply customize the way you view their content. Things like the photo album have always drawn a lot of traffic because users have the ability to interact with them in ways that a lot of the rest of the site lacks.
It’s looking more and more likely that they are not planning to go the acquisition route. Between this and the classified announcement it looks like Facebook is getting ready for the long haul.
This is huge for IAC – long rumored to have turnkey facebook widgets, skins, and apps in the barrel.
Kudos to the facebook team.
Mmmmmm me love widgets I want to eat them
If anyone caught Wales on PBS the other night, he glazed over Zuckerberg and connected him with the O.S. initiative. That, pared with the recent WSJ article got me thinking of what facebook was coming out with, but I didn’t think it was going to be this soon.
i’m not convinced this is such a huge deal. myspace has allowed 3rd party widgets for a long time, albeit without an applications area. all that will happen is a migration of the predominant myspace widgets to facebook.
The question is what will be their stance on advertising.
I think it’s desperation.
What I’m really wondering is how deep the intensity of rivalry is between MySpace and Facebook. That being said, I wonder if Facebook will allow MySpace’s Photobucket widget.
Is it confirmed that this is basically widgets? In other words, Facebook keeps users on the site, but other companies can reach their users through the site? Does that mean Coca-Cola, Budweiser, etc. can make widgets that would run on Facebook and not have to pay them any advertisement fees?
I tend to agree with matthew (#12). It’s an open platform and leagues ahead of MySpace’s walled garden, but I don’t really see how this could be any different (with the exception that MySpace will shut you down if you’re big enough). Where’s the value beyond the Facebook domain? I visualize a more open network where data is attached to users, and users are able to export their relationships…
Something closer to XFN…
Or some advanced version of FOAF.
Either way, what it appears to be is that Facebook is ever so slowly opening its doors. They may not have originally had this planned but the air of exclusivity that they nurtured for so long may have made the rivalry between Facebook and Myspace all but irrelevant.
Since Myspace started off completely open, it has tended to attract all the villainy that a soapbox usually does. Facebook has managed to control the amount of spam by controlling the type of users it has let in.
Opening up the floor for third party applications is just going to drive traffic up as people begin to expierment with widgets, but unlike Myspace it is unlikely to create the sort of CSS nightmares that your typical Myspace profile ends up becoming.
I believe I saw it posted somewhere that Mark was going to ride the train to the top.. might’ve even been here on TC.. I think this is a really smart and cool move of FB.
Some of you really dont get it.
Its the network, stupid. THAT is the platform. FB is a million miles ahead of any other service in this respect. I expect big things.
How does this affect Yahoo? Seems like Facebook is making more and more inroads on Yahoo’s turf.
Here’s what no one is seeing – their closed door approach allowed them to get a near perfect social platform built.
Anyone use myspace regularly? How often do aspects crash or fail?
How often do folks have these problems with Facebook?
It’s not even a fair comparison – Facebook was patient and diligent and now is taking on traffic building “sticky” aspects.
This is the way is SHOULD be done – not the other way around.
Smart focused growth.
Myspace should be worried – they’re too corporate now, and won’t be nimble enough to compete with the products facebook will be releasing now.
Facebook is making big inroads into google and yahoo’s turf. I wouldn’t be
be surprised if iphone makes a deal with Facebook.
Venrock and Sequoia missed Facebook. That is why all their investors like Swenson left them. KP is the best fund becacuse they were able to get in at a very low valuations.
KP is the best fund because they have an excellent training program.
This is going to make Facebook much more attractive to an older audience, in particular, the Myspace crowd. I have a Myspace profile, but now I want to see what all this hoopla will be about.
My much younger cousins in high school and college are going to think I’m a real loser when I try to add them as my friends.
Sequoia missed out on Facebook because they screwed over Sean Parker on Plaxo.
This is going to get really interesting. I wonder who is going to jump all over this first.
http://www.profilefly.com
~MJK
I just hope people’s facebook pages don’t end up looking like those of myspace which never load or are filled with so much third party widgets that they crash your browser.
Third party developers would be stupid to develop for this platform. As we have seen, time and time again with mashups all over the web, if the 3rd party idea is really worthwhile, Facebook will steal the features and integrate it into the main site.
To 23.
That’s exactly what I was saying. Right now their traffic is far behind Myspace’s 100+ Million users, but their problems are exponentially fewer as well. With the addition of new features, and the corrective measures they have already built into the system I wouldn’t doubt if they will be able to create a nearly perfect (by web 2.0 standards) user experience.
Mark really should ride this to the top, I see Facebook as -the- general purpose social network, and once he finds a way to market some of the data that is being generated without cutting off his legs — it might become one of the worlds leading social media companies.
Classified + Widgets + Demographically/Regional separated user base = Advertiser gold.
Mature poster #21 (Project):
I think everyone gets that. What people don’t get is how opening up the platform to widget developers is going to directly compete head-on with Google… or how it’s going to “eat Yahoo”.
If you can explain that successfully, you should seriously consider a tech-startup blog… knowing the facts and outcome of a feature before it’s even announced is a talent right up there with Miss Cleo… and we all know what happened to her
This will just open the flood gates for spammers. They will create spyware programs that will infiltrate everyone and their friends account. Much like MySpace has gotten stuck with the bulletins.
Mark my words, this will be the death of Facebook.
Robert – this really isnt about just widgets.
Read this:
http://mp.blogs...07/05/s_21.html
30 – thanks.
I’m in a similar position having finished school pre facebook and having many more peers on myspace – that said what’s keeping them from scraping and importing friends from myspace?
facebook has more security features and a tighter architecture so i don’t see 32’s comment being entirely relevant.
will they need to beef up security and screen 3rd party folks yes.
will it be their death?
doubtful.
the next thing they should do is take the facebook social network structure and market that to other sites and segments they can’t reach, monetizing overall traffic and reach.
that’s how they kill myspace.
if they’re equally resolved as they have been it will take 2 years to be a full peer in terms of reach.*
*guess
Project,
Interesting read (adds to RSS)… is that your blog?
Allyourbasearebelong to Zuckerberg.
“says they’re targeting Google next…” is that a beat em or join em quote or what?
maybe certain aspects of iGoogle or syndication … odd statement.
I can see how this will appeal to many individuals moving from MySpace to Facebook, but do people think that bands/companies and other organisations will now set up Facebook profiles?
Well, they can’t necessarily beat Google on sheer data aggregation. What they can do is provide similar features but take a more “person-centered” approach. The idea of “people search” is all the rage these days. Take a look at Wink and Spock.
What you have with Facebook is one of the biggest “real name” directories of people, their interests and other searchable tidbits on the planet.
If they want to go toe to toe with Google it will be on using this index of information in ways that Google’s UI currently prevents it from doing. Imagine the mashup possibilities.
One way Facebook can already leapfrog Google: They can leverage personal relationships to provide search results from people you already know.
in true steve jobs style…
“Tonight”
very well done
Facebook just became the most important internet portal ever
I bet that Facebook will not mention that Hi5.com just passed them in traffic.
FYI, I have the full list of companies listed on Cn along with a SplashCast in case you don’t want to read
http://www.cent...cebook-platform
Great note taking Michael!
/me waits for the techcrunch zuckerberg’s address
“Facebook just became the most important internet portal ever”
The funny thing is, you arent lying.
I’m actually getting kind of sick of Facebook.
I do believe that the constant changes Facebook are making are an attempt to keep their captive audience interested. Just when you think everyone is getting bored of Facebook (like Matt No. 48), they release something new.
This new platform will mean that the “something new” is constantly being introduced, thus letting others take care of the dirty work of creating new functions to excite the users.
News feed, status updates, City Networks, Network Homepages, Marketplace – all happens very gradually, but think back to less than 12 months ago – Facebook had none of these features.
So,
Myspace= red-light district
Facebook= suburban home
Linkedin= office
So when will all of this available? It’s nice to talk, but when will these 3rd party apps be used by 50% of users that are using Facebook everyday?
lol, sounds right
retarded