Facebook Recommends Applications: Facebook is adding a new feature to the application directory. They are adding a tab called “Apps you may like” in the application directory. This is a welcome change to be sure. The facebook application directory has been virtually unchanged for nearly 9 months. The facebook application directory leaves a lot to be desired and it is quite unwieldy to navigate and find new and meaningful applications. This feature is not yet live and rolled out network wide.

We are not sure of the algorithm that facebook is using for the recommendation engine. I would imagine that it looks at applications that my friends have and ones that they are using on a regular basis. I wonder if it looks at the app rating (which can be both good and bad) as part of the algorithm.

This also might offer a premium space for promotion of new facebook applications that advertisers are willing to pay for (no official word on that just yet). I think this could be a good thing. I would also suggest that they do a featured app of the day and give some visibility to apps that are moving in the functional/useful direction that facebook wants.

1 way for facebook to encourage behavior in app developers is to reward the ones that are providing the applications that they want to become more relevant in the ecosystem with increased visibility.

They could take some great lessons from iTunes and look at how it recommends content, has featured artists as well as having staff favorites. That is how some of the gems could get bubbled to the surface above the noise of the current 24,000+ apps on the platform, since many of the viral carriers have been choked off and it is increasingly difficult to get a great facebook app pushed into the social graph.

Applications You May Like Tab in Facebook App Directory

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