The new Facebook App Centre in some ways compliments its main competitors, Google Play (Formerly Android App Store) and Apple’s App Store, and in others attempts to compete with them. The focus is on mobile apps, such as Spotify and Pinterest, rather than PC or ‘in-Facebook’ apps – such as Farmville.
Facebook’s Aaron Brady says it "gives developers an additional way to grow their apps and creates opportunities for more types of apps to be successful."
It appears to be more of a store front and advertising portal than a completely standalone ‘shop’ – which makes sense given the dominance of its aforementioned competitors, and their dominant mobile product eco-systems.
Instead the goal appears to be to use Facebook’s social model to draw attention to specific apps – friends can suggest apps through Facebook, companies can tie them to their product pages etc.
Facebook App Centre’s ‘storefront‘
More importantly, the focus is on mobile, an area Facebook has been weak. This will reassure nervous investors ahead of the company’s IPO later this month.
"The App Centre is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook – whether they’re on iOS, Android or the mobile web. From the mobile App Centre, users can browse apps that are compatible with their device, and if a mobile app requires installation, they will be sent to download the app from the App Store or Google Play," said Brady on the Facebook developers blog.
Apps in the Facebook App Centre will also be required to use Facebook Login, which ensures Facebook retains control of the information on its network, and can continue to track users behaviour in the mobile arena.
As CBR has discussed in the past, Facebook is developing a paranoia about being locked out of the mobile market. It recently purchased 18-month old mobile photography app Instagram for an astonishing $1bn, despite no revenues. It may well be CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s last personal powerplay before he is beholden to shareholders. Most experts have questioned the thinking behind the deal – tempered somewhat by Facebook’s vast cash reserves (see CBRs print edition feature on Dotcom 2.0)
At this stage the focus appears to be on free apps, but Brady says that developers will have the option to offer paid apps. This means devs can pay a flat fee, and can approach Facebook to enter this beta.
Facebook will also be introducting a new rating system, which will be tied to the quality of the app.
"We use a variety of signals, such as user ratings and engagement, to determine if an app is listed in the App Centre," said Brady.
Facebook says that well-designed apps that people enjoy will be prominently displayed. Apps that receive poor user ratings or don’t meet the quality guidelines won’t be listed at all.
For developers, Facebook is introducing a new app ratings metric in Insights to report how users rate your app over time, and will also allow developers to monitor user feedback. Specifics weren’t offered at this stage.
Each app has an expanded app detail page, which helps people see what makes an app unique and will allow them to install it, same as any other app store. These detail pages will be required for listing in the App Centre, and will pop up when users (and non users) search for apps through Facebook.
Apps will also be held to Facebook’s stringent guidelines regarding content, ensuring the wild-west approach (similar to Google Play) is not repeated. Brady says that all app detail pages that are eligible for the App Centre will be reviewed prior to being listed, similar to Apple’s policies.
This it the latest in a series of announcements leading into Facebooks IPO. The IPO is expected to list at around $96bn-$100bn, making it one of the largest of all time. While remaining the dominant social media network, it has been struggling to transfer its advertising business model to smartphones. If the App Centre works, this kind of move is a safe, low-risk enterprise that will reassure investors as to the validity of the brand on smartphones.
