DISQUS

alicia · 1 year ago

I think that a better metric would look at how many users there are for each "category" of application, and how many of them are "active users" as designated by Facebook. Kara's point may be valid, but it is based on a cursory glance.

David Patton · 1 year ago

Isn't "Just For Fun" the default category when you setup a new Facebook Application? I find that in a lot of applications I have built for the web, that the default values in forms get a high count just because people don't want to take the time to choose them.

Maggy Young · 1 year ago

FaceBook & MySpace were both created as essentially 'fun' sites. Is that so bad as long as they're popular enough? The applications most probably reflect what is in demand from FaceBook users.
Maybe it was too aspirational to term Facebook a utility or maybe it just hasn't achieved that yet. Maybe the majority of its users want fun & don't want a utility.

Brent · 1 year ago

That analysis s counting all applications since the application platform launched. Initially the "Just for Fun" category was probably the most popular by far. What category has had the most growth lately would be a better analysis. This would show how Facebook is changing, if at all.
As alicia pointed out, you also need to look at active users. How many applications in the "Just for Fun" category are failed and/or abandoned applications?

dbrowell · 1 year ago

The existence of "fun" applications does not discount the variety of uses a platform can provide.

Is the home PC for kids because of the tens of thousands of games that have been released for decades? It seems like her argument would eventually lead her to announce the internet is just for lechers and teens too...

And I know many people that use Facebook frequently and deeply but hardly ever interact with applications.

kayleigh · 1 year ago

its good