Facebook Developers Platform
A
few years ago, when it became obvious that Facebook was becoming a
worldwide online phenomenon, it didn’t take long for entrepreneurs,
inventors and developers to flock to the site. The social network
started offering a number of developer tools that allowed people to
build apps and entire businesses around Facebook and its billion users.
After all, getting direct access to such a large marketplace is
enticing, and many people dived right in. But as Facebook has aged, it
also started becoming less cool. It used to be that any teenager or
young adult would look at Facebook for its latest news, information and
social contact. But now, they are leaving the site. Too many privacy
blunders, the site has become too corporate, or there is simply better
out there. The reasons are many, but now we see sites like Instagram,
Tumblr and SnapChat taking over.
But
does that mean developers should follow suite? After all, what is
popular in the young will typically spread out and become the next big
thing. Some people seem to think so. We’re now seeing VCs actively
discouraging new apps from being built around Facebook. Not only because
of the cool factor, but also because of the social site’s past when it
comes to handling its developers. When you build your app on Facebook,
you are putting all your eggs in their basket. They can pull the rug
from under you at any time, and you have no recourse. You may get access
to a large user base, but your business is completely at their mercy.
But
Facebook is not sitting still. Just last week they announced a number
of new tools for developers to extend their app to the mobile platform.
It is no secret that the company wants to tap into the mobile market big
with things like Facebook Home, and now it seems to be trying to port
its ever popular app ecosystem to phones as well. But will that be
enough to keep innovators interested, or is it too late?
