14 DAY TRIAL // The boom that Facebook recorded and that boosted it to the second spot in the social networks ranking was mostly due to its applications, which had a huge pull to users and developers the same. Now, they look to be on a descending trend, after the huge figures they recorded in the last two months of 2007. The reason, as Josh Catone of Read Write Web mentioned, is probably that of "app fatigue," meaning that the "nouveau" factor has run itself dry and now the users are demanding more than massive numbers of applications being thrown at them.
Another reason could be that many of those newly created, in order to add them to a profile, require a user to invite some other friends to use them as well. This has started a serious movement against the arguably moral fashion of making apps viral, with groups like "No, I will NOT invite 20 friends just to add your application," which gathered over 65 thousand people as members. Even a petition was signed, asking Facebook to intervene in the "forced invite" tactic used by some.
Meanwhile, MySpace has just decided to make its platform available to developers, having in mind the success that Mark Zuckerberg's social network had exactly because of it. That came as Amit Kapur, 26, was named chief operating officer on Tuesday. Further details about possible monetization of the applications are to be detailed next week, but the program is said to be innovative as to how friends connect and communicate. The launch of the MySpace Developer Platform will be next Tuesday, with a big event and a workshop, at the newly opened San Francisco office.
Is MySpace coming in to save the day for apps, like the U.S. Cavalry in any western movie, or is it stepping on a leaking ship, only to be sinking it faster with its weight? I guess that remains to be seen.