What's really going on with facebook apps?
When we built Gossipr, the focus was pretty simple - make something that people will be compelled to use. Unfortunately, the motivation we're using is largely a negative one: "I hope that it's not about me". It took an email from my friend Kristian to realize the full magnitude of how evil (and not in a good way) the app is.
Stop and think for a moment: If you're spending your time developing a tool that channels negativity then of what are you a conduit?
When conceptualizing and developing applications, it's easy to get caught up in how to make things viral and sticky. A lot of facebook apps are stupid games. Beyond those, many successful facebook applications feed and grow little narcissus within us. Compare People, Top Friends etc. The incentive for "comparing" or adding someone to "top friends" is the desire for them to reciprocate. That is what makes these viral.
So, with that said, I pose the following questions to anyone brave enough to answer:
- Can an application be viral without being innately selfish?
- What applications of a social network like Facebook can provide a net gain to society?
For more analysis on facebook apps, check out this analysis on the three types of facebook app.