Building Social Applications on Facebook

Have you ever wanted to make a game, a helpful tool or an innovative way to connect with people? Maybe, you just enjoy coding and designing on all levels and want to increase your arsenal of tricks. Even for the casual web enthusiast the notion of the opportunity to use an open source platform to make dreams come true and reach out and touch those hands and minds glued to other keyboards is very entertaining. With Facebook open source applications we are given the chance to do just that.

Getting started is easy and the main page to begin from can be found here: http://developers.facebook.com

We could go into the technical details of Facebook applications but those are well layed out on the site in there documentation link. A tutorial on how to get started might be appropriate but again Facebook though hath done better then I and by following the yellow brick road that is the link above a foundation can be set to fulfill all your application newbie wishes. What I want to do is give you a real perspective of Facebook applications as you head into a fantasy world of advertising, business, the internet and human connection.

What TO do:
Sign up for an account. I remember it being relatively quick and harmless and the site seems legit in its intentions. Spend a few hours familiarizing yourself with the site and its features. Click on all the buttons that seem to lead somewhere. Look for a few groups to join. See if you can find any friends and invite them to your social circle. You know, play with the toys like an adult kid with social add at the nearest Brookstone store.

What NOT to do:
Forget your username and password. Hassle. It never ceases to amaze me how many times I do this (or how many of the darn things I have to have in my life. I mean how many did my Grandmother have in the 60’s). Do not do anything illegal or suspicious. I mean this seems obvious but hey people it’s a crazy world out there and all I am asking for is to use a little common sense. If it seems wrong don’t do it.

What TO do:
Dream up cool applications that interest you. Think them out. Start simple and grow from there. The options of creation are almost endless and you have an entire community itching to try them out. With a lot of passion and a little luck your Facebook application might infect and go as far as to impact the world. I tried to create two. Yes I do practice what I preach. The first was an application that allowed the user to type a message on Facebook which would then be texted to the friends cell phone. I thought it was an awesome idea and I did have a working version so I know it is possible. The next idea was a sports betting picker where the user signs up and gets the best bets of the sports week texted, emailed and posted on facebook for them. I had a working version of this application as well. Regardless of what you make someone will most likely find it useful or entertaining.

What NOT to do:
Hire an unreliable application coder/designer. I know little about computers. I often enjoy learning everything myself and over the years I have self taught myself what I consider to be an impressive amount of computer knowledge for such an old aged novice. If I have the time I do it myself. Well of course now I have little time and needed to outsource these two projects. Went horrible and I never could coordinate a reliable programmer. So be careful when paying money for someone to do something. As I have always maintained if you want something done right, do it yourself. In these cases I was the sucker. Do not be a sucker.

What TO do:
When you have your award winning applications in hand and ready for launch think about all the possibilities. There are many business as well as social benefits that can be obtained by building such dynamic computer resources. Check out opportunities such as www.userplane.com (check back for blogs and articles on this hot web topic coming soon) or start networking and posting on the developer forums. Making money and industry connections will not harm you.

What NOT to do:
A good business idea is not selling illegal steroids. A great social opportunity is not the hot new friend you just found that’s only picture is of her in a bathing suit that you have never met who lives a million miles away. Do not be wreckless with your facebook using. Be a professional and surf and network with good intentions. Treat all with respect and enjoy life.

This technology is popping up more in more in everyday life. I read the blogs at ww.cardrunners.com and recently there new blog software features a Facebook application insert. These are fun and new ways to use the web for both financial and social gain. Using and building open source Facebook applications can be a rewarding experience, a great resume builder and an opportunity to broaden many horizons.

Courtsey of mfw1.wordpress.com