Been very quiet, but I have been working a lot, among other things.
I am happy to announce the launch of my latest Facebook Application: Telstra HeroMessage. You can read all about it at the Telstra HeroMessage® Facebook Application About Page.
I am pretty excited about it, a massive national media campaign is already underway.
On Friday I had the privilege of presenting at the Melbourne Facebook Developer Garage.
I’ve uploaded the slides for my Introduction to Facebook Development talk. I had to leave early due to some client commitments, but the talks were excellent and I met some very interesting people working in the Facebook space.
There is also a Melbourne Facebook Developer Group - I am keen to get another event organised really soon.
It feels to me a lot like 99. Recession on the horizon, and so many people rushing to jump on the NextBigThing, with little thought, planning, insight or vision.
Every other day I quote on another Social Network project. It’s not my idea, I just need to pay the rent.
All of the requests are essentially the same
Like Facebook for X
Where X is a niche market.
Or the ever-popular:
X but with social networking features
Where X is an existing service or product.
My answer is fairly consistent.
I can do this, but it might make sense to develop something using the Facebook API and leverage the existing network and tools.
Despite this advice, many people seem convinced they can play in this space.
The hard part is not the software.
The hard part is building the community in the first place.
You can download any number of free applications that can manage an online community - the technology is not the problem. The real problem is attracting people to your application.
The true value of the Facebook Platform is the network. Facebook have the community already - all you have to do is build an application and participate in the social graph.
It’s still a hard job, but it’s easier than starting from scratch.
To this end, and given that most of my work in recent months has been developing Facebook Applications, I have started my own software company, aimed at doing exactly this - leverage the existing social networks:
FiniteStateMachine - Software Development for Social Networks
If you’re thinking of building a social network or social network features, why not discuss your ideas with us first, we might just be able to help you save time and money with a strategy for Facebook and friends.