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c h a p t e r8 :Customized experienCes via FaCebook appliCations■Featured Case: How Causes, Zombies, Werewolves, and Vampires Changed
the Course of Facebook Applications (Continued)
Q: You had a few huge viral hits. What do you think were the keys to your success?
A: The keys to success were t wofold: the abilit y to recognize potential for a par ticular
application on the platform and the ability to rapidly adapt that concept as the platform
changed. The platform history is littered with the corpses of products by people who
could not or would not adapt their product as the platform evolved. The platform has
changed dramatically and will continue to change dramatically, and you must be willing
to adapt to it.
Q: What happened to your applications?
A: I was part of the Causes team; they still run and maintain the app, and it is doing extremely
well. My other hits—the Zombies, Vampires, etc., games—are now owned and run by
ohai, a company I cofounded.
Q: How does the Facebook application development environment differ today from the
early days?
A: Initially, the platform changed much, much quicker. A platform like this was completely
new, and the team at Facebook iterated at such a rapid pace that we developers had far
less time to alter our applications to bring them into compliance with the API changes,
and so on.
We now have much more detailed documentation, the capabilities of the platform have
significantly expanded, and Facebook is communicating its product road map to developers.
Initially it was this crazy experiment where we all—both Facebook and the developers—
were learning together how a platform like theirs could and should work.
Q: Where do you see the best marketing opportunities in social media today?
A: It really depends on the brand being marketed. I think celebrities have really found a great
way to market themselves on Twitter.
Celebrities like Dane Cook and Tila Tequila were really pioneers for that type of marketing
on MySpace, but the design of Twitter better represents the asymmetrical relationships we
have with celebrities.
For bands, MySpace is your strongest marketing opportunity. For location-focused service,
the iPhone is a phenomenal platform because it has built-in location services available to
developers. Facebook has grown to become such a huge service that for any brand it repre-
sents an extremely strong marketing opportunity.