What does that mean for an application developer? Since Facebook is sharing with developers a development tool to build a Facebook application this means opportunity.
Development using the Facebook Platform makes it possible to develop your idea and get it marketed to 32 millions users with little effort and startup costs. Success comes quickly for the applications that are easy to use whether or not the are the first ones on facebook.
The place that a Facebook developer should check out is Adonomics.com formerly Appaholic.com. Adonomics breaks down Facebook applications by popularity, growth rate, and even "virality," as measured by growth in a single day.
The key to making your Facebook application a successful revenue generating venture is tying the Facebook application into ad revenue within Facebook and features external to the application where you get to control 100% of the review stream. Another way is developers are letting companies brand their applications. For example an application called FoodFight will soon let you throw name brand chicken, instead of just calling it chicken.
Basically this is what I see as generating multiple streams of income.
The Business 2.0 article gives you details on 4 ways to make money:
- Sell Ads
- Attract Sponsors
- Sell Services
- Sell Products
There is even one venture capital firm, Sand Hill Road-based Bay Partners, which has set aside more than $12 million to bootstrap 50 new Facebook applications.
This has inspired me to develop some of the ideas I have had for decades now on the Facebook platform. 10 years ago the Internet was not at the level of intergratation with the general public that is now. In the age of Facebook my time has come to implement these ideas which, if successful, will let me retire before 40.
Wish Me Luck!
