Facebook Platform Archive

Social network app development firm Sprout has announced a new program today named F3. The Sprout F3 program costs $50,000 and includes the development of a Facebook fan page, Facebook Connect application to connect back to the company’s website and a Facebook application which the company says will connect into the Facebook news feed and realtime stream.

The release indicates that some new assets will be built for the app but I fear that it will be, at least, partly cookie cutter. The sales PDF shows an asterisk next to the words ”from scratch” but there is no additional note in the document. The Sprout F3 program is a smart idea to help get new customers in the door — naturally the clients will need either more services or long-term maintenance which will be billable. Reporting is included in the overall budget.

Another company in the Facebook app development space is NY-based Buddy Media.

iLike has launched music sharing applications on most of the popular social networks including hi5 back in December. Today iLike is announcing the launch of their own platform which will allow developers to integrate music listed on iLike into applications across the Web. iLike has selected several partners for today’s launch including: eVite, Slide, Flixster, Blogger, Typepad and Connected Weddings.

Adam Ostrow has a good overview of the way each of the partners will integrate the new platform into their services. Adam also notes, "Similar to iLike’s website and applications, there are some restrictions on the streaming music. Each listener can stream up to 25 full tracks per month, at which point they’ll need to either upgrade to Rhapsody’s subscription service (iLike’s main digital music partner) or be restricted to 30-second previews."

iLike will generate revenue from the platform by pushing the Rhapsody upgrades. Developers won’t receive a cut of the revenue – they will likely need to work on increasing engagement and that will need to generate the additional revenue if desired.

How will iLike handle the upcoming competition from MySpace? We will need to wait and see but getting developers on your side could be a very strong start.

This afternoon was the big Facebook F8 Developer Platform keynote from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. We were able to catch it on video and shrink it down to a simple 5 minutes. You can also check out live coverage of the event on Techcrunch, VentureBeat and All Facebook.

There are 24 partners on the new Facebook Connect including what looks like one non-U.S. company, Amiando. Sam Gustin notes regarding the keynote, "there just wasn’t that much "there" — there." On a serious note, how does this affect OpenID?

Please enjoy our videotaped broadcast of the Facebook F8 Developer Platform Keynote.