TechCrunch and Silicon Alley Insider are commenting on a nice pretty chart that hit the internet this morning which shows that the vast majority of Facebook apps are "just for fun."
Here's the chart:
Now, first off, let me come out and say that I love making fun of Facebook. I avoid using it whenever possible though I still keep my profile around in case, one day, it might be useful, even if only as a rolodex.
I do not, however, see any problem whatsoever that the vast majority of these apps are in the 'Just for Fun' category. In fact, I can't really imagine a situation where that wouldn't be the case.
People get tired of being asked to be zombies or whatever the latest app is over and over again, but it's still increasing communication and practically throwing social utility at you.
Social utility is a term I thought I had just made up, but a quick Google search shows that not only am I not as clever as I had hoped I was, but that's exactly the term that Zuckerberg used to describe the app environment.
Facebook is about communicating with people and they (unfortunately) do a pretty good job with it. It definitely has lots of major flaws, but dissing the system based on this graph is just muck raking.
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I have a Facebook profile. When folks add me, and I know them, I add them back.
Other than adding people I know, I do precisely one thing on Facebook. I play Scrabulous.
If there were some other utility or function on the site that provided me some value, well, I'd use it.
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Have you seen the company specific Facebook clones that are increasing in popularity? They are a really powerful tool for increasing intra-company communication and team building.
For example, Hot Topic uses a Facebook clone that is only for their employees. Since their retail employees are very similar to and in-touch with their customers, they know what customers will buy. A designer (or any other employee) might post a poll to their profile with an idea like "spiked neon-colored belts" that all employees can then vote their opinion on.
The reason the network is successful is that their employees are fairly homogeneous and this tool can be used both for fun and social networking. The employees use the tool because it puts them in closer contact with each other and helps them have a say in the products they will sell and the promotions they will use. The company uses this tool to increase the number internal innovations and to accelerate the learning of what works and what doesn't across the entire company.
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