Is Developer Forum Activity a Leading Indicator of Facebook Platform Economy Health?

May 7th, 2008

Facebook developer Jesse Farmer has slurped the Developer Forums for the last 3 months and found some powerful trends: since January, posts per day are down 51%, and and the number of contributing developers is down 27%. In addition, Farmer has tracked daily active user levels for apps launched during that same time period, and the numbers correlate: the later apps have been launched, the lower daily activity levels have been. Farmer concludes that it’s getting harder to have success on the Facebook Platform, and developers are turning their interests elsewhere.

While it’s clear from Farmer’s numbers that developer activity peaked in January, the most important signals of the Facebook Platform economy are ultimately not forum posts but rather financials. As the initial wave of interest in the platform settles out and those working on cracking the monetization nut march on, the true test of the viability of the Facebook Platform is whether a substantial number of entrepreneurs will be able to establish successful businesses that can weather ongoing changes in platform conditions.

The good news for developers is that as social networks compete for developer attention, they will have to prove that the economic health of their developer community is strong. That game is still very early.

Check out The Facebook Marketing Bible: 40+ Ways to Market Your Brand, Company, Product, or Service Inside Facebook

Posted by Justin Smith

Filed in Business, Development, Facebook

Inside Facebook Sponsors

9 Responses to “Is Developer Forum Activity a Leading Indicator of Facebook Platform Economy Health?”

Mike Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 10:23 am
I don’t think that the developer forum activity can be used as in indicator of platform heath. The developer forum is used mostly by developers who are new to facebook and those who need help. As developers get better they stop using the forums and stop making posts. They also contribute less as they learn more and become more successful. They do not wanting to share any secrets or help out their competition.
Zack Onisko Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 10:52 am
These trends are a good indication that the Apps craze trend is calming down, at least at Facebook, as app developers either are finding it hard to monetize an app, create a sustainable viral app or possibly they’re focusing more time on OpenSocial, building apps that can slap into multiple networks.

On the user side, I wonder if a large amount of people share my attitude and find 99% of social network apps stupid and pointless and app invite spam extremely annoying, invasive and anti-productive.
Jesse Farmer Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Mike,

Justin slightly mis-represents my report. I don’t claim that developer activity is a measure of the health of the platform, only of engagement in the developer community.

I then looked at the level of success people are finding on Facebook and found that both trends are highly correlated.

My conclusion is that fewer developers are engaged because Facebook, starting in mid-January, has been making it increasingly difficult to succeed on the platform.

Whether this is good or bad for the platform is another matter entirely. I think it’s certainly good for Facebook.
C Dharma Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I have to agree with Mike. I think most serious developers who are trying to build useful next gen apps on exisiting platforms, facebook or otherwise, do not have a need for the forum.

What I believe we are seeing with the forum decline, is that the huge number of silly, useless, I’m gonna send you a (insert substance/item here) app developers no longer need help, or are moving on to the next dev fad.

I kinda see it as a good sign, hoping that the real benefit of the user base is utilized for creative and useful apps provided by quality coders. I still don’t think anyone should be putting all there eggs in one basket though.
Jesse Farmer Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 11:52 am
C Dharma,

I address the “documentation hypothesis” in my update to my original report.

The short of it: even if it’s true it doesn’t explain the data.
friarminor Says:
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:09 am
Jesse,

Dumb but sincere question but what are the things you think that made the facebook platform un-friendly to devs?

Really interested.

Best.
alain
Zinginctwisit Says:
September 8th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Download or watch online the best free porno!
Best porn movies, HD porn pics. Watch porn for free! Just free porn, no credit cards no registration

http://www.youtube.com/user/maderoij999 Click here and watch all porno for free right now!

free access to full lenght porn sites/no cridit cards
free g p page porn t yellow
free porn no credit card nedded at all
quick time player porn that is free and can watch now
free 15 minutes of porn brought to you by
where can i watch porn for free
free videos of porn star avena lee
what is the best free porn site
100% free porn no credit card
free lil abner daisy may porn comics
free porn to watch on the iphone
receive porn videos on cell for free
what is the best free porn site downloads
what is the best free streaming porn video site
free porn no credit cards no registration
free porn video no credit card necessary
free porn videos to watch online dont have to download
where can i watch porn dvd for free
where can i watch porn dvds for free
a website where i can see porn dvd for free
black women with white men free porn
free mexican women porn videos with no downloads
free online 60’s 70’s porn
free porn no registration watch on site
free videos jet set for men porn clips
indin porn mobile videos free to download
the best free porn in the world
free crazy 3d world porn comics
free porn video, no credit card check
free porn you can watch on the playstation 3
kelly’s list free porn star listing
porn that i can watch for free
where can i get free porn pictures
where to get free porn video on my phone
100% free porn video websites that dont ask for credit cards
100% free world wide porn archieves
are there any sites with free porn movie no credit card
free japanese elder porn shigeo tokuda videos
free porn site with no card need
free porn to watch on your computer wiyhout signing up
free video porn clips you can preview without downloading
how can i get free porn without a credit card
porn videos for my mobile for free
utube 100% sinsant acssce 100% free porn
100% free porn no credit cards
all porn videos free and withought registration
anyone know where you can watch porn for free no memberships
black men on white women free porn video
free download how to erase porn from computer
free flash porn videos of rebecca love
free full length porn videos moviemosnter stright 15 minutes
free online porn videos with no download
free porn clips from the 1980s
free porn downloads for free with no credit card
free porn downlods for free with no creit card
free porn from the 60’s and 70’s
free porn men on top of women
free porn no credit cards or checks
free porn that you dont have to register for
free porn to watch on your computer without signing up
free porn video no e-mail necessary
free porn videos no credit cards search catergories
free porn videos no download no crdit card
free porn videos to watch for free
free porn videos-no credit card or check
free porn with no credit card number
free program to download porn of the internet
free videos on porn star yatka shye
how to watch free porn best site
more free porn than you can handle
recieve porn videos on cell for free
sista’s likin sista the free porn
the best free porn game ever made
the best place to get free porn
the free porn place to watch black men and white w
theres gotta be some free porn sites on the internet
tracking access to free porn on internet background check
watch free porn on line no restritons
watch free porn videos of michelle tucker
watch free porn with no signing in
watch porn videos for free with no registration
what channels on cable shows porn for free
what is the best free dowlodabol porn sit
what is the best place to find free porn
what’s a good free porn site
what’s the best free porn site
where can i view free porn on line without a credit card
where can i watch free homemeade porn
where can i watch porn for free yahoo answers
which free porn site has the best videos
PorocoalHof Says:
September 14th, 2008 at 2:20 am
When it comes to treating powerlessness incorrigibles, men may repair to to any means life-or-death to get rid of the best price for generic cialis and excess that the mould may basis them to feel. There are cheapest generic cialis pills uk divers ways that people treating their unruly, and in this article pore over a polemical pattern of treatment that some men elect to bear in state of affairs to unburdened up their issues with erectile dysfunction.
dschibut Says:
September 29th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I began this thread to evaluate public usable web proxies:

Which are really anonymous?

Which can unblock facebook, myspace etc, in other words: are fresh ?

Which can you recommend?

Thanks for your help,
Dschibut

P.S.: In my country, the freedom of speech is somehow limited, please give me a hint, if you are not sure about your recommendation.