The Facebook Platform: Analysis

[Eds note: Re-posted from Fred's blog Unit Structures. Although this post isn't directly about politics, the political applications of Facebook's new API are wide-open, as Alan Rosenblatt suggests.]

I’ve spent the morning reading the endless coverage of the recently-launched Facebook Platform. In case you can’t figure it out from the breathless tone of the coverage, this is big news; I commend the folks at Facebook for all of their hard work. Since it’s not particularly valuable for me to re-state things that have already been said (read here or here for a good treatment of the platform), I figured I’d just share my own take.

Let’s start simple - what is the Facebook platform? The platform is an extension of the Facebook API that allows third-parties to integrate applications within the profile. That is, the Facebook profile is now customizable. Among many other things, I can now add a list of adoptable dogs or cats to my profile (my favorite Facebook Platform app by far, thanks Dogster). The applications are “deeply integrated” into Facebook, meaning they have access to Facebook data. Unlike Myspace’s approach, where third-party applications sit above and apart from the platform, Facebook’s applications can reach into the platform and pull out data. This means you can know things like how many of your friends use an application, for example.

The setup process is simple; you select an application, agree to the terms of service, customize the application and then use the application. There are two outcomes - in one, the application is added to your profile. For example, you can add a list of adoptable pets to your profile. In the second outcome, you become a member of the application, but you don’t add it to your profile. You can still interact with the application, but it is less of an identity statement.

Understanding the differences between these two outcomes is important. In the first case, we can think of applications more as widgets; simple tools that enable individuals to make identity statements through their profiles. In the second case, we can think of Facebook as the gateway to rich applications, ones that leverage your data to provide a better experience. This is the “portal” example - where Facebook may become a portal to places like Ebay, Amazon or YouTube.

The play is simple; Facebook seeks to become a starting point for its users web experience. In essence, it is solving the “what’s next” problem by providing users a potentially endless set of experiences to encounter within the Facebook framework. Facebook knows that it has limited resources, by ceding some control of its space to third-parties, it retains users while enabling them to spend more time exploring the endless depths of the Facebook experience. In a sense, this is Second Life applied to Facebook; Second Life is only as interesting as the environments developed within - Facebook is no different.

Sounds like a great plan, right? I agree, it does sound good on paper. But how it shakes out in the real world is still left to be known. Facebook users engage with the service to have social needs answered; while Platform adds a bunch of new capability to the service, does it actually answer social needs? I think you could argue that the diversification of information presented on a profile is a relevant social need, but what about an Amazon marketplace? Is that a relevant social need? The ultimate question revolves around how these applications enable mutual disclosure between friends - how they help friends learn more about each other. That’s been the killer app of Facebook since day one, and just because the audience has changed somewhat I don’t believe it is no longer relevant.

The good news is that Platform is value-agnostic. There’s a lot of room for people to develop the applications that enable discovery about friends. And while that might not need to be the main goal of all applications, the applications that leverage discovery and revelation about friends will engage their audience in a different way than those who do not.

Ultimately, I think the Second Life metaphor is the one that sticks best to the Facebook Platform. Facebook has opened its doors in a way that Myspace has never dreamed of. In doing so, they’ve created a marketplace of ideas that will benefit the company and the community. They have realized that to create a thriving community, and ecosystem must be fostered. Facebook Platform is that ecosystem, well-positioning the company for its inevitable growth.

Update: Please see my notes and criticism of the Facebook Platform in this post.