Inside Facebook

It’s certainly been an eventful week in the world of Facebook and the Facebook Platform. Just in case you missed anything, here’s a recap of the week’s top stories:

1. Facebook Redesign Beta Launching This Week

It’s been a long time coming, but the Facebook profile page (and home page?) redesign is finally here. Developers large and small are unsure of what exactly the ramifications will be: some are hopeful that it will make life easier for ‘good’ applications, but most fear that a falling tide will lower all boats. Facebook released some important details on the beta period for developers on Friday, and is still soliciting feedback on the final design.

2. Facebook’s Policy Enforcement Cuts Off Super Wall’s Viral Channels

Facebook’s evolving approach to application governance has led to several “punitive actions” in recent weeks: first, Slide’s Top Friends was suspended from the Platform, and then, Social Me was suspended as well. Top Friends has been restored, but Social Me is still unavailable. This week, Facebook disabled some of Super Wall’s viral channels, resulting in a large drop in daily active users, as a result of a policy decision which RockYou called “debatable.”

3. Facebook Application for iPhone Launches

With the launch of the iPhone 3G and App Store, Facebook launched a full-fledged application, replacing the previous iPhone-optimized website. Facebook for iPhone integrates with many of the iPhone native capabilities, and more (especially geo-tagging) will be coming soon (click here for screenshots).

4. Official Scrabble Coming to Facebook

While Scrabulous has been dominating the Facebook Platform Scrabble scene for quite some time, Hasbro and EA are bringing the official game to Facebook sometime before the end of the year. Because Scrabble’s North America and international rights are fragmented between Hasbro and Mattel, it’s unclear if the official version of Scrabble will affect Scrabulous’s future.

5. Facebook Marketing Bible - July 2008 Edition Now Available

With all the changes happening on Facebook these days, developers and marketers alike are trying to figure out the most leveraged ways to build a brand inside Facebook. Inside Facebook’s Facebook Marketing Bible - July 2008 Edition includes tips, tactics, and detailed information on the profile redesign, Pages, Groups, applications, and more.