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Source:Mashable!

Earlier this week, Facebook further updated its developer policies in an effort to prevent application spam. As today’s F8 conference kicks off, the social network is now expected to announce “preferred” application makers. Bottom line: it’s a tough time to be a Facebook developer, at least if you’re looking for the quick bait and switch.

Recently I had an opportunity to speak with Kristian Segerstråle, CEO of Playfish, the popular social gaming company we profiled last month, about the upcoming changes to the Facebook Platform and what they mean to his company. First up, I asked Segerstråle about the new Facebook design and its implications for developers. He said “We’re very supportive of all efforts to improve the experience. When Facebook initially tightened up we were the first to say that’s great because ultimately we believe if social networks can create great places for consumers to hang out and spend time it will be the best possible enabler for the social gaming industry.”

So far, gamers have been doing a lot of hanging out on Playfish’s games like “Who has the biggest brain?” In June, the company saw a total of 900 million minutes of usage across its network, which now also includes Bowling Buddies and Word Challenge. That was up from 300 million in May, and represents about 30 minutes of playing time per active daily user. According to Segerstråle the reason for such a high level of engagement is that “people end up treating the game as something they interact around and have a fierce competition between friends that drives engagement to a whole different level that you can’t get in the [console] video game industry.”

The company is actually heavily rooted in the mobile gaming industry, with the founders representing the same founding team behind Glu Mobile. With games on Facebook and other social networks, Playfish is looking at alternative business models than the typical one-time purchases seen in the console and mobile gaming markets. For example, last week, the company launched a Pro version of Who Has The Biggest Brain?

Currently, Playfish is using PayPal for payment processing, but expects Facebook to introduce its own payment system for developers in the near future, and also eyes premium SMS billing as an option for billing consumers for things like virtual items and game unlocks. Additionally, the company has also signed deals with AOL, Yahoo, and Microsoft to power in-game advertising.

Ultimately, Segerstråle expects transactions to represent the lion’s share of Playfish’s business. He says “We’re increasingly talking about transactions, we believe social gaming is primarily a transactional business.” If that’s the case, it could also represent a major piece of Facebook’s business model, as gaming is by far the most successful aspect of its platform, and an in-house payment system would give Facebook a piece of every transaction. We’ll find out if Facebook is ready to move in that direction later today, as F8 kicks off at 430et/130pt.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:Playfish Creates Addictive Facebook Games [The Startup Review]Save the Date - Social Gaming Summit: June 13, 2008AOL Puts Third Screen Media to Use; Launches New Mobile GamesSGN Raises $15M to Build a Platform on Top of Facebook’s PlatformSocial Gaming Summit: User Generated Games [livestream]InterPlay: SGN In Bed With Mashable [Video]Social Gaming Network Expands its Platform

Source:Mashable!

Editor’s Note: This post is part of an ongoing series at Mashable - The Startup Review, Sponsored by Sun Microsystems Startup Essentials. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

STARTUP DETAILS:

Company Name: Locify

20-word Description: Location-enabled mobile browsing, and a free and open way to create location-based services for mobile phones.

CEO’s Pitch: Locify is location-aware platform for mobile phones. Users can start exploring what is “here” or “there” and any developer can add geo-services or geo-resources for Locify users.

Developing location based services is now as easy as writing XHTML pages. Locify now offers fully-functional services such as Wikipedia Near, Geocaching, Show Me on the Map, Twittering Your Location, FireEagle location update, etc. And all these services are well documented to inspire other developers to enhance them or create new services.

Location matters. Locify yourself. Take the ride!

Mashable’s Take: We’re seeing mobile Web services that are aware of your location more and more frequently. If they happen to carry the right balance of technical utility, a critical mass of users, and ample privacy controls, they can become downright killer applications. We already have a growing array of applications having to do with everything from social networking services to historic landmark referencing to fuel pump scouting and so forth. So it seems only fitting that some startups seek to bundle various services together to make things a little easier and a little less scattered.

Manchester, UK-based Locify appears to be traversing that route. It works with both GPS-enabled and non-GPS devices, and can be accessed by going to www.locify.com/m. There are also software download options that you can install through a connection to your PC if that’s your preference. A BlackBerry-specific version of Locify is available, though it is said to be in an “experimental” stage.

I explained that Locify is sort of a bundle of services, all formatted to a relatively uniform menu system. Which I think is an altogether fair assessment of its general utility. But at its most basic level, it is a platform, eminently expandable so far as XHTML can take a developer today. For the time being, Locify sports a decent variety of items to choose from. Geocaching for trailblazers and treasure hunters. Twitter support. Wikipedia search. And of course some basic mapping, too. But it will naturally need to expand its sights. Given the simplicity of Locify’s code base, more additions will likely be made in the not too distant future. (See the Locify feature page, with videos, for a deeper look at what it has to offer.)

To its users, Locify is a free investment. One need only have a compatible mobile device. Registration is optional. Keep in mind, though, a Locify account will get you access to more features than you would otherwise have at hand.

Sponsored by Sun Startup Essentials

Source:Mashable!

Searchles has landed a big new publisher to implement its social discovery technology: The Washington Post and its MyPost social network. Now, when browsing the profiles of other MyPost members, you will see Searchles’ “Related Users” widget, which shows you other people who have taken an interest in similar stories on washingtonpost.com, based primarily on comments.

The basic idea is that connecting people based on similar reading habits is a good way to build a social network – especially one on a big media site. Clicking on users in the Related Users widget brings you to that user’s profile, where you can then see the comments that person has left on Washington Post articles. You can then navigate to the rest of the user’s profile, which includes basic features like a bio, interests, and photos. The Washington Post’s commenting and social networking features are powered by Pluck, which was recently acquired by Demand Media.

Similar to publisher offerings from companies like Loomia and Outbrain, which are focused on related content rather than users, the end-game is increased page views. From this perspective, I would think users are more likely to click on people than additional headlines, but Searchles UI appears to be lacking user photos in the widget, a big missed opportunity.

Searchles signed a similar deal last year with Total Telecom, a niche publisher for the communications industry. The company secured additional angel funding earlier this month and has raised a total of around $2 million to-date.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:Washington Post Acquires College Match Engine CourseAdvisorSearchles Launches Push-me/Pull-me WidgetSearchles UGC for Total Telecom’s News PageSearchles TV Remash for Basic Video EditingSearchles Adds Joe Biden Branded ChannelSearchles Adds MetaCafe & Veoh to Aggregator TV ServiceSideStep Partners with Washington Post for Travel Search

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 12:08 pm and is filed under News, Washington Post, Pluck, Washington DC, searchles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.