Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg seems to think that WE think his site is just one massive tool for advertisers. Okay, maybe we do. And?
The still not yet 30-years old billionaire social media pioneer used his platform’s f8 conference this year to announce changes that he hopes will alter that perception with new privacy options for users. His team also used the Silicon Valley gathering of developers, hackers, start up founders, advertisers and marketers this week, on April 30, to announce a few new tools for mobile developers.
For Users:
1. Anonymous login: So…you know how you may decide not to make a comment on a website or interact with a mobile or desktop app that requires you to log in to your personal Facebook account because you don’t want it to get access to your personal data and blast your activity on your Friends’ feed? Well no more. You can now test out an app by opting to login anonymously. That way, your interaction or rambling comment isn’t announced to all your Facebook friends on their stream. They no longer have to know that you like “Big Girls With Big Guns” or that you listened to Meatloaf’s greatest hits this morning. Sweet! Only as Fast Company notes, it’s not really that anonymous because Facebook still recognizes you’ve gone incognito. It’s really a temporary anonymous feature, The Wire notes, until you decide you trust the site and want to connect it to your personal Facebook page. Also, comment trolls may be licking their chops so there’s that.
2. Control Shares: And before, when your friend decided to sign up for an app or join a site, he likely also opted to give that app access to his friends information along the way. That included you. It meant thousands of apps that you’ve never even interacted with, let alone granted access to, are out there with a gateway into your personal Facebook info. No more. The only way an app will be able to access your info is if you independently grant it access. Your friends no longer have the ability to auction off your inner foodie pics to whomever offers them a free cookie for logging in to their app. Coolness! Now if only you could revoke access to those that came before today. doh!
For Developers:
1. Mobile Like: Given that most people these days live, sleep with and practically date their mobile phones, they’re also accessing mobile apps via their devices as well. But to actually “like” an app, they’d have to eventually make their way to a desktop to do so. No longer. Facebook introduced the mobile “like” button. That’s a big deal because by the time someone gets out of bed after scrolling their feed, they may not recall nor go back to that cool site just to “like” it and join. Today’s modern social media user is Short Attention Span Theater.
2. Monetization Options: Facebook has finally figured out how to make money off of ads and its mainly via mobile. It generates 60% of its revenue from mobile. Now that they’ve figured it out, while you developers try to develop sales opps for your apps, you can just plug in Facebook’s ads in the meantime. Mobile developers now have a way to integrate Facebook ads in their apps using its new Facebook Audience Network. Think of it like an Adsense for Facebook sort of deal. So those still finding a way to get sales ads to fund their apps, can just plug in Facebook’s own and get a profit share from that. Not bad.
3. App to App link: Before this week, Apps that are related or work with or rely on other apps can be linked so users no longer have to log in separately. It’s sort of like the Google integrated login that it introduced recently. Log in once and you’re good to go. There’s good and bad in that but for a mobile developer, keeping the user engaged and plugged in is a good thing. Remember what we said about that short-attention span of the mobile users. It’s really really short.
There you have it! Until the next round, we’ll see how these new developments pan out for privacy and for developer interaction
