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Facebook ends platform policy banning apps that copy its features

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Re: Facebook ends platform policy banning apps that copy its features

#72
I'd have to read the actual policy, but i think this would enable two cool things:

- Third party Facebook and messenger apps

- Bridges between Facebook and other social networks (where you have a FB proxy account that you don't touch manually)

Thinking of it, it seems unlikely that this is actually going to be allowed. More likely, they are talking about if Facebook makes e.g. their own Candy Crush, you are still allowed to keep the original on FB.

Re: Facebook ends platform policy banning apps that copy its features

#74
post #16
post #10

"We've run out of ideas for how to improve Facebook. Maybe we should let developers come up with some ideas again so we can copy them."

Exactly what I thought. "... and then, once we are satisfied for a couple more years, we can put the same policy back into place"

More so than for copying, my guess is that with the release of the dating feature this policy could've probably caused tensions and legal problems with essentially all other dating apps out there.

Dating apps heavily use Facebook not only to get hard-to-fake user info (age/real name) and content for a profile (photos/likes), but also to provide some validity to profiles since Facebook and the social graph in general do a good job of keeping bots and fake profiles at bay, and users know that.

Nonetheless, this could've certainly raised anti-competitive concerns, and Facebook probably figured they are in a dominant-enough position that saving the scrutiny is worth the risk.

Re: Facebook ends platform policy banning apps that copy its features

#75

I'd have to read the actual policy, but i think this would enable two cool things: - Third party Facebook and messenger apps - Bridges between Facebook and other social networks (where you have a FB proxy account that you don't touch manually) Thinking of it, it seems unlikely that this is actually going to be allowed. More likely, they are talking about if Facebook makes e.g. their own Candy Crush, you are still all…

> - Third party Facebook and messenger apps

Are private messages on the API though? I haven't checked recently, but a few years ago I remember they weren't or had just been removed.

> - Bridges between Facebook and other social networks (where you have a FB proxy account that you don't touch manually)

This could be interesting.

Re: Facebook ends platform policy banning apps that copy its features

#76
post #60
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would a company ever impose binding restrictions on itself?

It's a PR move. Probably proposed by one of many third party agencies that Sandberg 'wasn't aware of but takes full responsibility for'.

I think it's more likely this is to avoid problems with the slew of dating apps that depend on Facebook now that they're starting to roll out their dating feature.

Re: Facebook ends platform policy banning apps that copy its features

#77
post #2

This is awesome. Maybe then we can finally have a separate group / events app without getting the crappy Facebook feed and notifications. I think most people use facebook either for messenger, or for the group and event features.

+1. A lightweight events app that also features better Calendar integration would be fantastic. If I sync events with my calendar now I need to log-in to Facebook to change my RSVP response. Event suggestions only if they don't conflict with my calendar and a way to convert calendar events to Facebook events to share with friends would be killer features too.

Re: Facebook ends platform policy banning apps that copy its features

#78

Great, if anyone has any spare cycles - please rip out Events from Facebook into another app so I don't have to open Facebook anymore.

This! Similar events is the only thing I miss about fbook.

I was told that an app / site "bandsNearMe" or something like that would replace.. but I don't think it's gets the smaller acts / DJs / events that I would really like to attend.

Meetup does a better job of notifying me. As long as people are going to use fbook to post about upcoming events it would be nice to have access to things coming locally, since I rarely use fbook I miss some good shows.

Re: Facebook ends platform policy banning apps that copy its features

#79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "I remember when we raised money from Bill Gates...and Gates said something along the lines of, 'That’s a crock of shit. This isn’t a platform. A platform is when the economic value of everybody that uses it, exceeds the value of the company that creates it. Then it’s a platform.'" Interesting. But Facebook's platform != Facebook, so I don't understand the maxim that "the value of everybody that uses the platform m…

I believe this use of the word "platform" in this context is a much more specific meaning where it's a counterpoint to the idea of an "aggregator." It comes up in discussions about modern large tech companies being "aggregators" or "platforms," and this is the point (allegedly) Gates is making here, that Facebook is much more an aggregator of content that users bring into the walled garden than they are an economic p…

If you believe that all this advertising spending and social media marketing activity actually adds more to companies on Facebook than it does to Facebook itself, then you sort of could call Facebook a platform per this definition. An advertising platform.

Re: Facebook ends platform policy banning apps that copy its features

#80
post #55
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They put an enforceable promise in there that they wouldn't do that. Wait no, they could have but didn't.

Why would a company ever impose binding restrictions on itself?

To convince customers that they're not just trying to trick them?
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