Facebook has compiled a list of its most popular games for 2011, as well as lists of other games with notable achievements for the year.

The data was compiled primarily using active user counts and user reviews. Facebook adjusted its methods for counting active users in October, which may have had an impact on the final figures used to compile its lists. Facebook also tells us that, of its monthly gamers, 25% play at least ever other day with the average gamer playing more than three different titles per month.

Here’s the list of Facebook’s top 10 most popular:

Most popular games in 2011

1. Gardens of Time (By Playdom)
2. The Sims Social (By EA)
3. Cityville (By Zynga)
4. DoubleDown Casino (by DoubleDown Entertainment)
5. Indiana Jones Adventure World (By Zynga)
6. Words With Friends (By Zynga)
7. Bingo Blitz (By Buffalo Studios)
8. Empires & Allies (By Zynga)
9. Slotomania-Slot Machines (By Playtika)
10. Diamond Dash (By wooga)

Facebook also broke out special categories for the fashion, sports, and casino genres as well as a category for most popular games with 50,000 to 100,000 users and another for games with highest engagement figures in the 100,000 to 500,000 user category. You can check these out on Facebook’s blog.

> This story originally appeared on our sister site, Inside Social Games.

Facebook has introduced a new About page for people to learn how advertising works on the site. Some users are seeing a notice above the News Feed directing them to the page that includes a simple breakdown of how and why Facebook shows ads, a video and answers to common questions.

The new “About Advertising on Facebook” section of the site positions ads as a way to keep the social network free for users. The page also emphasizes that ads are shown without letting advertisers know who you are. Many users are under the impression that Facebook sells personal information directly to advertisers. In reality, advertisers use the self-serve Marketplace tool or work with a representative to target audience without ever being able to identify individuals. The About page also reminds users that they can choose not to see certain ads by clicking the X in the corner.

This type of education effort is overdue, as many users who have been on the site for years have little understanding of how ads on Facebook differ from other display networks. To avoid the type of backlash it has received in the past, the company will need to continue to be proactive about helping users and members of the media understand the way the platform works now and how it will be changing, especially as it relates to advertising and user privacy. This will be particularly important as Facebook begins showing Sponsored Stories within the News Feed and likely on mobile devices.

The new About page might not be directly related to an agreement with the Data Protection Commissioner of Ireland announced today, but it is worth noting the social network committed to providing more transparency about how users are targeted by advertisers and how personal information is used for advertising to others within the next six months.

The Inside Network Job Board is dedicated to providing you with the best job opportunities across social and mobile application platforms.

Here are this week’s highlights from the Inside Network Job Board, including positions at Kubra, Acquinity Interactive, W3i, 50 Cubes, Natural Motion Games, Social Point and 24MAS Group.

• Manager- Regional Sales- US West

• Sales Executive – Online Marketing

• Ad Sales for Facebook/Social Apps

• Executive Producer/Product Manager

• Product Lead

• Senior Game Designer / Producer

Listings on the Inside Network Job Board are distributed to readers of Inside Social Games, Inside Facebook and Inside Mobile Apps through regular posts and widgets on the sites. Your open positions are being seen by the leading developers, product managers, marketers, designers, and executives in the Facebook Platform and social gaming industry today.

Ireland’s Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has found Facebook Ireland to be compliant with Irish and European Union law, and has reached an agreement that gives users even more control over privacy in the next six months.

The commissioner completed a three-month audit of Facebook Ireland following a formal complaint suggesting the social network was creating “shadow profiles” of non-users. Because Facebook’s international headquarters are located in Ireland, the commission there oversees the company’s legal compliance for all users outside of the United States and Canada. The audit found “positive approach and commitment” by Facebook Ireland to respect users’ privacy, but made several recommendations that the social network has committed addressing before a follow-up audit in July 2012.

These recommendations include increased control over tagging features, an update to the data use policy, sooner deletion of user and non-user data and more transparency and control over how personal data is used in advertising on the site.

With regard to “shadow profiles,” the commission determined though Facebook receives some non-user data, it is not being used to build profiles of those people. The report also states that the social network is “now taking active steps to delete any such information very quickly after it is received.”

The findings of the report are overall positive for Facebook, which many people mistrust because of the massive amounts of data it collects and new features that force users to opt out rather than opt in. How the company addresses individual recommendations from the commissioner remains to be seen, but it appears to be willing to make concessions on certain features to give users more control and satisfy watchdog agencies. According to a press release from the commissioner, “Taking a leadership position that moves from compliance with the law to the achievement of best practice is for Facebook Ireland to decide but if it continues to display the commitment I witnessed throughout the audit process it is certainly achievable.”

Last month, Facebook settled charges with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission so that any sharing-related privacy changes will now be up to users to opt into. This was in response to an action Facebook made in 2009, which forced all users to make some information public, including name, profile photo and list of friends.

The full report from the Data Protection Commissioner is available here. The social network responded to the report in a note on its Public Policy Europe page.

Yahoo! announced an extension to the Facebook integration it introduced in September to 26 additional sites worldwide, including Yahoo TV, Yahoo Movies and Yahoo Games.

Yahoo News has taken advantage of Facebook’s new “frictionless sharing” method that allows apps to automatically publish stories about a user’s activity to the home page Ticker and Timeline. Yahoo claims referrals from Facebook to Yahoo News have increased by 300% in three months and that the site is seeing more traffic from the 18-34 audience as a result. Adding social reading features to the company’s other online properties is likely to continue to increase traffic, but Yahoo, like others integrating Facebook Open Graph, will need to continue to make it clear to users how their activity is being shared and how they can hide certain actions.

Since launching the Yahoo News friends’ activity feature, Yahoo says more than 12 million people have opted in for the service. When users connect their Facebook accounts with the Yahoo app, any stories people read on Yahoo News will be shared with friends via the Ticker, aggregate News Feed stories and in a box on users’ Timelines.

Some users are hesitant to have everything they read displayed to their friends. It can be frustrating then to click on a Yahoo News link that brings up a permissions dialog rather than the story. There does not seem to be a way to opt out of connecting with the app and still go on to read the article. However, once users add the app, Yahoo does a nice job of informing people how their activity is being shared and giving them an easy way to browse privately.

We have previously compared how privacy and frictionless sharing is handled by social reader apps from The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily and The Independent. Yahoo, however, is the most popular with 20 million monthly active users, according to AppData, our data tracking service covering growth for apps on Facebook. The Washington Post Social Reader is the next most used with 4.7 million MAU.

This week, predictably, given the holiday season greeting card applications were popular on our list of the fastest growing by daily active users. Other popular apps included horoscopes, Spotify,  a few social networks within Facebook, Social Statistics, Family Tree and a few more.

The titles below grew from between 180,000 and 7.3 million DAU, based on AppData, our data tracking service covering growth for apps on Facebook.

Top Gainers This Week

	Name	DAU	Gain	Gain,%
1.	Daily Horoscope	7,600,000	+7,310,000	+ 2,521%
2.	Spotify	5,200,000	+1,800,000	+ 53%
3.	Samsung Mobile	4,100,000	+1,000,000	+ 32%
4.	Nimbuzz Mobile	1,700,000	+870,000	+ 105%
5.	الأبراج اليومية	810,000	+800,000	+ 8,000%
6.	Social Statistics	1,300,000	+740,000	+ 132%
7.	SmoothTV	680,000	+678,000	+ 33,900%
8.	Onedate	560,000	+530,000	+ 1,767%
9.	Greeting Cards	1,400,000	+480,000	+ 52%
10.	Family Tree	480,000	+360,000	+ 300%
11.	Ninja Saga	910,000	+340,000	+ 60%
12.	Microsoft Live	18,500,000	+300,000	+ 2%
13.	Tetris Battle	2,900,000	+300,000	+ 12%
14.	開心水族箱	1,500,000	+300,000	+ 15%
15.	Niik	340,000	+280,000	+ 467%
16.	Greeting Cards	850,000	+230,000	+ 37%
17.	Cards	730,000	+220,000	+ 43%
18.	Greetings	960,000	+210,000	+ 28%
19.	المزرعة السعيدة	1,300,000	+200,000	+ 18%
20.	Greeting Cards	860,000	+180,000	+ 26%

Topping our list this week, Daily Horoscope with 7. 3 million DAU and a similar version, اليوميالأبراج اليومية, with 800,000 DAU. These apps often ask users to post daily to their Walls. Spotify grew by 1.8 million DAU, while Samsung Mobile grew by 1 million DAU.  The aforementioned social networks on our list this week included: Nimbuzz Mobile   app for mobile devices with 870,000 DAU, Onedate dating app with 530,000 DAU  and dating app Niik with 280,000 DAU.

Assorted apps on our list included Social Statistics, which publishes a list of top friends to the feed, and grew by 740,000 DAU. Then there was a sophisticated video app, SmoothTV, with 678,000 DAU. Genealogy app Family Tree grew by 360,000 DAU. Finally, Microsoft Live grew by 300,000 DAU.

The rest of the list included the aforementioned greeting card applications which principally worked by asking users to send cards to their friends. Greeting Cards Grew by 480,000 DAU, Greeting Cards grew by 230,000 DAU, Cards grew by 220,000 DAU, Greetings grew by 210,000 DAU and Greeting Cards grew by 180,000 DAU.

All data in this post comes from our traffic tracking service, AppData. Stay tuned for our look at the top emerging apps on Friday.

A new mock-up from Facebook and other recent changes suggest the social network could be making another push to make Events seem less formal.

Facebook has long wanted to make its Events product a tool for users to organize casual get-togethers not just parties or big events. Still, users are unlikely to use the feature for more spontaneous plans unless Facebook introduces a way to create events from mobile that can compete with the efficiency of group text messaging.

In the mock-up Facebook provided to illustrate Sponsored Stories in the News Feed, we noticed a design and name change for Events. Instead of “Create an Event” being on the right hand side of the home page squashed between Ticker and ads, there is a “Make Plans” option in the publisher at the top of the page. Last month Facebook made two other semantic changes within Events — using “Join” instead of “RSVP” and “Going” instead of “Attending.” This less formal language could lead more people to use Facebook Events for everyday plans.

Whenever Facebook has made changes to Events, designers have emphasized the product’s potential for spur of the moment gatherings. The first time event creation was added to the publisher, an official blog post suggested it was a way “to plan a more spontaneous get-together.” When Facebook added an Events box to the home page, the blog post mentioned “casual get-togethers,” “an impromptu day trip” and “last-minute plans.”

The website no longer features a way to create events from the publisher or directly from the home page. Users are also unable to create events from the iPhone or Android apps. The mobile touch site includes the capability, but the design is not optimal since the many of the buttons are too small.

To really get users making plans with Facebook Events, the company would have to develop an even easier flow and bring it to the native apps. Events could be an appropriate addition to the standalone Messenger app, which has made one-to-one and group messaging faster than in the main Facebook app. Some mobile apps, like Holler and Hurricane Party, aim to give people ways to create events on the fly, but without integrating Facebook’s social graph, they are of little use.

Facebook wants to position itself as a platform providing the tools for users to share social data that can be accessed by any developer to create new applications, but the company doesn’t shy away from encroaching on someone else’s territory. Developers operate in fear that the social network may eventually release a competing product, crushing smaller competition with its massive userbase. Checkin services, photo sharing apps and group messaging platforms have all faced this challenge, and it is unclear whether Facebook will wait for the pain points of organizing impromptu events to be solved by a third-party developer using the Events API or integrate this into the Facebook product itself.

Facebook will begin showing Sponsored Stories in the News Feed in early 2012, the company tells us.

With Sponsored Stories, companies can pay to promote organic user activity such as Liking a page, checking into a place or playing a game. These stories will be labeled as sponsored and will be the same size as other News Feed items. At launch, users will see no more than one Sponsored Story in their feed each day.

Though Facebook has not experimented with advertisements in the News Feed since 2007, we don’t expect this move to result in major user backlash. It is likely to be a boon for advertisers and pave the way for promoted content on mobile devices.

The social network is taking a cautious approach to maintain a positive user experience while giving advertisers more options to spread their messages. The only paid content users will see in their News Feed will be Sponsored Stories about friends’ activity or posts from pages they are already connected to. Pages that want to run campaigns to get new fans will not be able to advertise directly in the News Feed. We anticipate Sponsored Stories in the News Feed will have much higher click-through rates and conversions than units on the side of the page.

Here is a mockup of the feature from Facebook:

Some users might be frustrated to see sponsored content in their feeds, but we don’t anticipate this changing how most people use the site. Twitter started putting Promoted Tweets directly in users’ timelines this summer. While some users complained initially, there is no evidence to suggest this has affected overall use or growth. Facebook was also able to add Sponsored Stories to the canvas app Ticker and homepage Ticker without much noise from users. Introducing these ads in the main News Feed was a logical next step. Although the company said Sponsored Stories would not yet be included on mobile devices, we suspect the social network will do this soon.

Facebook has experimented with social ads in the News Feed as early as 2006, when users who joined sponsored groups would be notified when friends interacted with the same page. When Beacon launched in 2007, Facebook also gave advertisers the option to put messages in the News Feed. The current iteration of Sponsored Stories is more considerate of user experience because people will not see items that wouldn’t otherwise appear in their feeds organically.

There is not yet an official launch date for when these ads will enter the News Feed. Facebook tells us advertisers will not be able to specifically pay for News Feed placement and that Sponsored Stories will continue to be shown in other locations on the site. The company is still determining how these ads will be priced, whether they are premium ads or available in the self-serve Marketplace tool. Ben and Jerry’s has already partnered with Facebook to run Sponsored Stories that may run in the News Feed in 2012.

Users will be able to provide in-line feedback on Sponsored Stories, as they currently are able to with ads. Users can hide individual advertisements or all ads from a particular advertiser. Facebook also occasionally allows users to indicate whether an ad is misleading, offensive, repetitive or uninteresting, among other options.

Appssavvy, a New York-based startup focused on activity-based display advertising, has raised $7.1 million in a Series 1-A round that included AOL Ventures among previous investors True Ventures and The New York Times Company. StockTwits CEO Howard Lindzon and Scott Kurnit, founder of About.com and now AdKeeper, have also invested in appssavvy, which released the adtivity platform in September.

The developer is perhaps best known for its brand-to-game content integrations with major social game developers like Zynga. Because the model is based largely on branded virtual goods — like a Coke bottle in FarmVille that revives withered crops — appssavvy is able to quickly and naturally work its way into major social games, effectively turning that game into an ad platform for the brand. Beyond that, however, appssavvy also uses its adtivity platform to serve interstitial ads that related to the experience the user is having in social or mobile apps. For instance, certain ads will appear to users that are completing a level in a game, while users who just made a purchase in a shopping app will see something else entirely.

Appssavvy initially raised $3.1 million in 2008. The company has moved away from selling traditional in-game banner ads, claiming that activity-based media like its adtivity platform delivers engagement four to eight times above industry average.

February 8 – 9, 2012 | San Francisco

Inside Social Apps 2012, is coming back to San Francisco on February 8-9, 2012, and we hope you’ll be able to join us.

What do industry leaders view as today’s most formidable challenges affecting social and mobile apps and games? How are top developers of all sizes overcoming obstacles to growth, and what can the industry expect in 2012?

Inside Social Apps 2012 is our third conference on the future of monetization on social and mobile platforms. Leaders from social apps and games industry will share their insights on the key uncertainties, and new opportunities, facing social games and applications in 2012.

If you’re considering attending Inside Social Apps 2012, take advantage of limited early registration pricing and register now.

Space will be limited, and both previous Inside Social Apps conferences have sold out in advance.

A limited number of passes are available at the Early Registration price of $399. This price will be good through this Wednesday, December 21st only, so we encourage you to register now.

Who’s Speaking?

We’re excited to present the following 38 confirmed speakers at Inside Social Apps 2012:

	Carl Sjogreen Director of Product Management, Facebook		Cory Ondrejka Director of Engineering, Facebook
	Michael Lazerow CEO, Buddy Media		Simon Mansell CEO, TBG Digital
	Clara Shih Founder and CEO, Hearsay Labs		Mike Ouye Founder and CEO, Red Robot Labs
	Daniel Terry Co-founder & CEO, Pocket Gems		Perry Tam CEO, Storm8
	Jens Begemann Founder and CEO, wooga		Lee Linden Founder, Karma Science
	Charles Hudson Co-founder and CEO, Bionic Panda Games		John Earner GM European Studios, EA / Playfish
	Paul Bettner GM, Zynga With Friends		Kevin Chou Co-founder and CEO, Kabam
	Suleman Ali Co-founder and CEO, TinyCo		Will Harbin Chairman and CEO, Kixeye
	Dennis Ryan EVP Worldwide Publishing, PopCap		Eric Goldberg Managing Director, Crossover Technologies
	Haining Wang CEO, Happy Elements		Sho Masuda VP Marketing, Social Games, GREE
	Clay Kellogg Head of App Dev. Sales, AdMob		Terry Angelos Co-Founder and CPO, TrialPay
	David Katz VP of Digital Media, Starz		Suchit Dash Co-founder and VP of Product, Ifeelgoods
	Atul Bagga Senior Analyst – Video Games & China Internet, Lazard Capital Markets		Peter Farago VP Marketing, Flurry
	Anil Dharni Co-founder, Funzio; Founder, Storm8		Mike Sego CEO, Gaia Interactive
	Tim Chang Managing Director, Mayfield Fund		Micah Adler Founder & CEO, Fiksu
	Arjun Sethi CEO, 6waves Lolapps		Brenda Garno COO & Game Designer, Loot Drop
	Bill Jackson Creative Director, CastleVille, Zynga		Hussein Fazal CEO & Co-founder, AdParlor
	Mihir Shah President & CEO, TapJoy		Lisa Marino CEO, RockYou
	Rick Thompson Co-Founder, Playdom, and Investor		Riz Virk Co-founder and CEO, Gameview Studios

We’ll continue to add new speakers to our 2012 lineup, so please check Inside Social Apps in the weeks to come.

Registration

Our limited $399 Early Registration pricing for the full 2-day conference pass for Inside Social Apps 2012, available until December 21st only.

Previous Inside Social Apps conferences have sold out in advance of event day, so we strongly encourage you to register now.

About Inside Social Apps

Inside Social Apps 2012 will explore new opportunities, as well as emerging risks, in the development, distribution and monetization of social and mobile applications. Inside Social Apps 2012 will span February 8 – 9, and will bring together the world’s leading social and mobile developers and investors for critical discussion and analysis.

Social applications first made their splash in the US in 2007, and have now evolved into a global media ecosystem. Today’s social and mobile apps comprise a profitable multi-billion dollar industry, characterized by vibrant investment activity and newly emerging opportunities on mobile platforms.

Inside Social Apps is Inside Network’s content-focused conference series that investigates the latest trends and challenges for social and mobile applications and the companies that bring them to market.

Past Inside Social Apps events have seen sold out before conference day, so we strongly encourage you to register early.

A full agenda will be announced shortly. Keep an eye on Inside Social Apps for more information.

Registration

Early registration tickets are available at $399 through this Wednesday December 21st only. Past events have sold out in advance, so we strongly encourage you to register now.

From all of us at Inside Network, we look forward to seeing you on February 8 and 9 in San Francisco!