by Larry Magid
At its F8 developer’s conference in September, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that users would be able to display data from apps on their Facebook Timeline. Partners immediately launched a handful of apps, including one that tells your friends what you’re reading on the Washington Post, but for the most part users were left to wonder what else would be forthcoming.
The wait is over. At a small press event in San Francisco (the first Facebook presser I’ve attended that didn’t feature Zuckerberg), the company unveiled the 60 new apps that are now integrated with the Timeline.
The idea is to display your activity with the apps directly on the new Facebook Timeline for your friends to see. Some of these apps are primarily on Facebook but others interact with mobile apps from the same publisher. For example, if someone downloads Foodspotting to their smart phone and takes a picture or rates a meal they’re having at a restaurant, that picture and rating can immediately appear on their Facebook Timeline. Likewise, if you’re using Gogobot to plan a trip, all the details of that adventure can be shared on Facebook with anyone you choose. You can ask questions such as “what should I do on Maui,” and your friends can clue you in.
Rotten Tomatoes allows you to share your thoughts on movies you’ve watched and learn about what your friends are watching. You can post movies you want to see which can trigger a conversation or maybe even help you find someone to go see it with.
Other companies with new apps include Foodly, Ticketmaster and Pinterest.
All this is possible thanks to Facebook “open graph,” which is a set of application interface tools (APIs) that allows developers to create apps that share user activities back to Facebook.
In a blog post about the new apps, Facebook’s Carl Sjogreen said “There will be apps for all types of interests, as more apps will launch over time. Whether you love snowboarding, gardening, hiking, or knitting, or something else, there will be an app for you.”
Users are required to authorize the application and determine who they want to share with. Even after you start sharing you have access to controls that let you limit the audience further.
Facebook users can add apps by clicking here.
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