The War and Art of The Wall
Published by Michael Vu July 31st, 2007 in Facebook Applications, Facebook Review, Facebook Trends.There are currently three main applications that focus on enhancing a Facebook user’s wall: Super Wall, Advanced Wall, and FunWall. Of the three, Super Wall of RockYou, currently is in the lead with about 3.06 million users. Second is FunWall, by Slide Inc., with 2.1 million users, and then there’s Advanced Wall with about 1.2 million users. All three of these applications provide useful additions to users’ walls and have been able to gain traction relatively fast.
Up until a few days ago, these were the only enticing choices for Facebook users. Now, there’s one more - the default wall. While the three applications battled for users, Facebook recently rolled out an update that adds new functionality to users’ default walls and makes it a competitive option. This has got to be a bit frustrating for these developers, as they no longer are just competing against each other, but also with the mothership - Facebook. So which wall should users choose? Check out my reviews below:
Super Wall Rating: 
A RockYou offering, Super Wall has the most users and the only one with an API for developers to work with. This API allows users to post content from any Facebook application to their friends’ Super Walls, creating a new powerful viral channel for developers to freely distribute applications. Although they are minor, two features missing from this application are links to view “wall to wall” and to write back on a user’s wall. However, these are features that can be and probably will be added easily.
Its API is a very smart feature and the first of its kind for a Facebook application. Having an API within a platform opens up a plethora of opportunities and makes Facebook even more viral than it already is - and that is an exciting proposition. More applications are surely to follow suit and contribute to this “super viral” platform. Check out a snapshot below:
FunWall Rating: 
At the wall level, FunWall is the easiest to use with 3 quick buttons for to add a photo, video, or slideshow. It also features the ability to hide the default wall, a smart move for obvious reasons. The lack of an API for other applications to leverage keeps this application a notch below Super Wall. Checkout a snapshot below:
Advanced Wall Rating:
Advanced Wall has a rich text editor (TinyMCE), a lot of settings to control the # and privacy of wall posts, and the capability of writing on up to 20 walls at once. Unfortunately the application is slow to load and offers a bit too much for a wall feature that needs to be simple by nature. Rich text is/should be a big no-no for walls or any comment-like feature for that matter. Keeping things consistent with Facebook’s clean presentation is a must. Check out a few snapshots below:
Facebook’s Wall Rating:
Facebook’s updated wall now allows users to post photos, videos, links, and even record a video to each other’s walls. The record a video feature is what sets this application apart from all the other walls, adding whole new dimension to users’ walls. Birthday wishes, greetings, congratulations, apologies, and other acts of expression may be now delivered video-gram style. Pretty cool stuff. Cool enough, in fact, to deserve a 5 star rating.
How can these wall applications compete?
If these wall applications have any chance of competing with Facebook’s default wall, I believe they must have the following (at the very least):
- A sort feature to view by post type, such as by all videos, or by all photos.
- A feature to import wall messages from the default wall. This would be a great feature, since users will be deterred from changing to a wall application if they already have a lot of wall posts.
- Niche walls. I don’t see why anyone would want an Advanced Wall, Super Wall, and FunWall, but I can see why someone would want a Photo Wall, a Video Wall, and a Graffiti Wall. These wall applications are going to need to fill those niche walls.
- An API for other applications to leverage. Super Wall set the bar for this, and other wall applications have no choice but to follow.
What does this mean?
If Facebook can jump into the market of wall applications, it can surely branch out into other application categories as well. This could spark a huge shift in developers’ strategies and within the application ecosystem. Currently a lot of the top applications focus on simple Facebook functions and address their shortcomings by expanding upon it. Examples include custom poke-me’s, top friends, and more powerful user walls. While they may have a lot of users, focusing on fundamental functions of Facebook also leaves them vulnerable to future Facebook updates that contain the same enhancements. Afterall, they are simple functions to begin with.
Say for example, if Facebook rolls out another update that allows users to rank their top friends by default. Considering that the #1 Facebook application right now is Top Friends, by Slide Inc., with 10+ million users, such an update could start a “war” on Facebook - if one hasn’t already started from the latest update. Developers, how do you feel about this?
Technorati Tags: facebook, facebook wall, facebook superwall, wall api, super wall, advanced wall, fun wall
Good post! I agree that Rockyou with their Superwall application, by far, is the most advanced, and also they have found a way to monetize their application through advertising other apps using their open API($0.30 per a user(CPA)(http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/07/27/how-much-is-a-facebook-user-worth-at-least-030/).
Facebook app developers will definitely need to “up their ante” in order to maintain what you would call “freedom” from the mothership(Facebook). One way I can see developers differentiating themselves is through verticals “The Riches are in the Niches”, but the downfall to verticals is that you lose mass appeal.
Thanks Rich. Indeed, they are going to need to “up their ante.” But why? At any given moment, Facebook could thwart all of their efforts. This is definitely a sticky, sticky situation.
I’d love to see Facebook allow me to import posts from my other Wall apps, at which point, truthfully, I’d abandon SuperWall. It’s a nice app but if Facebook does that now, it just makes it all easier.
It’s a sticky situation indeed. Facebook basically treated other wall apps as idea incubators for their site. They hadn’t made any significant changes to the wall until someone else comes up with those ideas? Weird.
If they are just going to leverage the platform to improve their site, then the platform is not all it’s been sold to be.
1. I think Facebook won’t do this “Top Friends”-stuff.
2. Everybody who does _basic_ stuff on Facebook has to keep in mind that Facebook could compete with them one day. But let’s also not forget that Facebook has to compete with other Widget providers like Slide, Inc. with users. If Facebook decides to create a new application, they already said that they won’t auto-install it on their existing user’s profiles. (Probably on new ones, but this still leaves a field of 30.000.000 people open.)
But it won’t be the basic applications that are the future of the Facebook Plattform. Wait for a few months and you’ll see more and more sophisticated, specialized applications. Look at Buxfer, which is a transaction-tracking application (www.buxfer.com - also on Facebook) and you know what’s the future. And it’s not “FunWall” or “SuperPoke”. (Although they’ll be a part of the future, too.)
3. What’s more important is the following: Please, Facebook, let me ignore certain applications. I’m fed up with this damn questions that were asked to me by MyQuestions, which I haven’t even installed. I don’t want that stupid stuff anymore!
Sebastian,
“If Facebook decides to create a new application, they already said that they won’t auto-install it on their existing user’s profiles. (Probably on new ones, but this still leaves a field of 30.000.000 people open.”
This only accounts for applications. The Wall features that they implemented was for the Facebook core, not as an application. By building features into the Facebook core, they inherit all 30,000,000 people. =)
and…. all new created accounts as well. Facebook won’t be creating apps… they’re not third parties…
ı wanna use faceReviews
ı wanna use faceReviews..& I’d love to see Facebook allow me to import posts from my other Wall apps, at which point, truthfully, I’d abandon SuperWall. It’s a nice app but if Facebook does that now, it just makes it all easier.
Over the last few weeks I have noticed serious structural problems with Superwall. These included messages being notified as being received (in mini feed) yet not delivered to Superwall, messages sent arriving at intended destination from a third party (somehow???) (often not a friend), and a COMPLETE LACK of RESPONSE to complaints lodged via official response email and Superwall home page. A quick view of the message board of Superwall http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2601240224 will give you a feel for the frustration.
Not sure if the developer of this product has subsequently sold it, or what, but with a customer base now of about 2.6m, why cant it be fixed???
I deleted the SuperWall. All I was received was chainletters, hoax and stupid ‘friendship’ Heineken bottle pictures. Sorry but no one was using that application to send personalised messages.
My super wall is stuffed - it won’t display new posts and won’t delete old ones, even tho it tells me they have been deleted successfully. Have trying removing it and reinstating it by i end up with the same posts i’m trying to delete and no new ones.
Don’t really want to remove it completely as i get sent quite a few things, but it is utterly useless at the moment.
Hi, the superwall in Facebook has a glitch. I failed to delete some of the posts sent by friends, kindly check and revert, thanks.
i am having problems with my super wall in the facebook it dose not change when some one send me some thing and i cant control what dose it show help me fix it send to me for help at my e_mail
Im having problems with my superwall in facebook. When someone sends me a new wall post it does not get displayed on my profile. Could you please slove this problem and e-mail for any enquries.
my super wall does not view an of my wall posts even though i get notificaions in the mini feeds…………there is no point in keeping it
Unfortunately, the way these walls seeme to be competing right now is by spamminess. Just got a message saying someone sent me a messgae on my advanced wall, which i dont have. I install it to see the message - but the first thing i get is an invitation to ask all my friends to post on my new advanced wall. Dont want to do that, so I am going to click continue. Wrong! Doing so will spam all my friends - since the box around my friends faces is blue, this means they are default going to get the request from me. I have to gray them out, to continue to see my friends message without spamming all my friends. So I do that and proceed - and guess what my friends message is? Please write on my wall - turns out he didnt realize he was spamming all his friends either!
Nasty, nasty!
Hi I keep getting emails telling me that people have sent me a message on super wall,but then i go there and they are nowhere to be seen.what happened to them
where is the delete button 4 posts that i dont want it should be made available