Below are the 6 policies most commonly violated that will result in your app getting banned:

1. Your application tab or canvas page cannot serve as a doorway page to your site. Redirecting users from these to a microsite outside of FB is a no-no!
2. The application cannot link, redirect or integrate with a competing social platform like Google+, Twitter, etc. Many applications take advantage of the AddThis widget to cross promote other social platforms and with the change to Google’s search algorithm, it is expected that Facebook will try to further wall-off their garden.
3. The application may collect Facebook User data but the data is not yours to keep. In fact, you may retain access to the data only while your app is live; you must delete all user data if you disable the application.
4. User data can be used to create a physical product (like a book of your Facebook comments) but that product cannot be sold.
5. The application can also collect Friend data but only for the purpose of enhancing the application experience.
6. If your application lives outside of Facebook and uses Facebook Connect for authentication, Facebook usernames or passwords cannot be stored inside the application.

These guideline changes frequently so you have to stay on top of these policies. There are live applications that are in violation of these policies yet Facebook hasn’t banned them. While it may be tempting, don’t take the “I’ll jump off the cliff because someone already has” approach because Facebook can easily catch your promotion. Over the past few years, we’ve built a fair share of apps and fortunately we ran into an issue only once. Facebook put us through the ringer before they allowed our application to relaunch. It is an experience that I never want to repeat again.

While earning points or rewards can make the check-in experience entertaining and interactive, LBS applications take it a step further by allowing shoppers to expose a storefront and/or products to an entire network of friends. Knowing that we tend to socialize with friends with similar values, tastes and interests, retailers can expect that the exposure will not only bring foot traffic but it will actually attract shoppers that are motivated to make similar purchases. Considering that retail sales were relatively flat in August according to MasterCard Advisor’s SpendingPulse (August 2010), retailers should be looking for every trick in the book to encourage consumers to open up their wallets this final quarter of the year and beyond.

While Roeding is promoting the success of his Shopkick mobile application with retailers American Eagle and BestBuy in the video, retailers can find the same functionality in applications from competitors, such as WeReward and SCNVGR (NOTE: SCVNGR recently integrated their application with Facebook Places). Several retailers, including Domino’s Pizza and AT&T, have recently launched LBS campaigns with these mobile applications and the campaigns  appear to be increasing both traffic and loyalty so retailers are not stuck with a single choice.

Considering the above, what other value do you see in location based services?

I tested out the check-in process via both SCVNGR and Yelp on the iPhone.

As I allowed both application to connect Facebook, SCVNGR requested permission to publish Places check-in data on my behalf while Yelp only requested to post to my wall (see pictures below). However, both pushed data into my Places data stream.

When looking at Places data, I also discovered that checking in at the local Ace Hardware store via Yelp and Facebook generated activity at two separate locations. It is if you are living in a parallel universe where you are going to the same place but not really. In fact, data from the Facebook API shows that there were two distinct locations with the same name and extremely close map coordinates. So friends who are at the same location may not be able to see each other if they use different check-in applications and that negates the benefit of using an alternative check-in application. It is poor architectual decision by Facebook as you can’t simply aggregate the information. The only bit of good news is that Yelp identifies itself as the application used during the check-in process which means that developers who are tapping into the API can decide whether to include/exclude this bit of data during analysis if they do attempt to aggregate the information.

Finally, Places data now includes location data that extends beyond the map coordinates. Some locations now feature address information, such as street, city, state, and zip code. Since Facebook Places is not available globally, it will be interesting to see if Facebook renames the zip code attribute to “postal” code which is more universal/common. Clearly, Facebook has additional architecture/system design challenges ahead of itself.

Over the past few days, I’ve had a chance to get “under the hood” and check out Facebook Places. Below are the essential things that Facebook marketers and developers need to know about this new service.

How does Facebook Places work?

Facebook has created a short video that explains the features of Places (see below). The critical feature to note is that friends can easily add a location by completing a couple of fields (Name and description of location). However, once a location is added, friends cannot edit or delete it.

But with an iPhone, you can report on a location — you can tell Facebook that the location has closed (eg: gone out of business!) or it is a duplicate listing.

How can Facebook users access Places?

At the present time, Places works only on the iPhone or via the Places mobile site. To access Facebook Places via the website, you must have a browser that supports the W3 Geo-location specifications. This means that you can check-in on advanced browsers such as Firefox (3.1 or greater) or Chrome (assuming that you know how to enable the -enable-geolocation flag). While this service is currently available only in the United States on the iPhone, Facebook has indicated that they will offer this service in new countries and support other platforms in the near future (no specific dates were provided).

What can business owners do with Places?

Business owners can claim their location by clicking on the “Is this your business?” link on the listing page and completing a short form. They must also provide a official document and confirm that they  authorized to manage that listing. Once the information is submitted to Facebook,  they  receive a confirmation email that their information is being processed. They are also taken to the Facebook business centers where brands can learn how they can interact with Facebook users (eg: purchase ads).

How can developers and marketers leverage Facebook Places?

Facebook Places provides additional data about users on Facebook. The data is available only once a user has agreed to share their information with the application. Since this data is not a part of the standard user profile (it requires a user_checkin extended data permission), Facebook developers have to create an application that would compel users to allow/release their location information. The data that marketers can access includes, the location information, the user’s information, the check-in date/time, etc. (view diagram via MindMeister). Once a Facebook user checks-in at a location, the information is readily viewed from the news feed as Facebook has elevated the weight of these postings. To maximize exposure and access to Places data, it is highly recommended that developers add friends_checkin extended data permission. This permission would authorize marketers to collect check-in data for a user’s friends, which can enhance the overall experience. At the present time, Places data can only be read — Facebook has not exposed the check-in API calls. These calls surely exist but are available only to partners FourSquare and Gowalla who are currently working to integrate their services with Facebook Places.

Why did Facebook create Places?

At first glance, you’d think that Facebook saw the success of FourSquare or Gowalla and got location-based services envy. However, it seems that there are more compelling reasons to roll out this service, including:

• Access to more data. Google showed the world that user data is king. The people at Facebook are smart and they see how the additional location data provides one more bit of information about the user that can be used to better target the user. Places also provides Facebook with user-generated data on businesses that otherwise would have to be purchased.
• Location-based services offer an important dimension. One of biggest challenges with web searches is the lack of context. For example, a user that searches for “tiger” may be interested in either tigers (the animal) or Tiger (the golfer).  Facebook has the same problem when it comes to social media data. For example, the Like button may convey a user’s interest or preference but it lacks context, as a user may like the brand, the product or some other attribute. With Places, Facebook is one step closer to understanding what the user wants. (NOTE: Om Malik also shares my point of view on this matter; source).
• Revenue from businesses. Google monetizes each and every search using their ad network. In the same way, Facebook has attempted to monetize their network of users. Facebook is promoting Pages as the desired location where brands should engage with the user in conversations. Looking to the future, it is not unimaginable that Facebook will require brands to pay a fee for either a premium Page listing or a premium position within the news feed (which is no different than what Twitter is doing these days). By that point in time, brands will be forced to jump on board and pay a premium to differentiate themselves or ignore Facebook, which is highly unlikely.

It seems that Facebook took a page out of Google’s playbook when they considered this service. As Facebook Places gains momentum, it will be interesting to see how brands utilize this service to interact with and market to their consumers.

To test it out, I tried it both on my desktop and my mobile device (the iPhone). I posted a quick status update about a meeting that I had in the afternoon and then I used the GPS-enables search capability to search for buzz posts from friends and people that are nearby. And the verdict is?

While Google may have thought that it had a hit on their hands, it feels more like a buzz-kill to me. There are several issues with this new service:

1. It is force social networking in email. Google opted to directly introduce this feature instead of using the Gmail Labs capabilities to introduce this feature as an add-on (the way that Google normally introduces new features). Google also added a special icon to this feature to draw focus to this new feature, ensuring that gmail users pay attention to it.
2. Google didn’t make Buzz super-intuitive. As a Google Wave user, I’ve wanted to tie my Wave, which is collaborative message, to an email as a means of continuing the conversation. While I learned that Google Buzz has this feature, I didn’t pick up on it until I watched the video (source). I also had a co-worker asking me how they can tie Buzz to Twitter, which they didn’t think was very obvious.
3. People don’t seem to know how to to use Buzz. I must be a super early adopter because NO ONE (and I mean none of my technologically or marketing savvy friends) seemed to have used Buzz to post a single buzz. The worst part about this test is that I know that they checked their gmail account at least once today so I would have expected to see one buzz. I think that this is indicative that while Google may have a significant user base, the Google Buzz service in by itself is not enough to entice a user to post to an activity stream nor is it a good replacement of twitter.

For Google, Buzz is a necessary service. It helps Google:

1. Generate more traffic/interest in Gmail. Gmail has less users than Hotmail and Yahoo so they need a service to increase subscribers.
2. Google Buzz creates a solution to connects your email with Twitter.  This feature is incredibly value to marketers who want to understand the consumers that interact with their brands. While DandyID offers a similar capability, Google already has a larger user base so it is game over for DandyID.
3. Buzz establishes a new page view/instance to sell an add. Google isn’t doing this because they want to offer something cool/evolutionary — Google needs buzz to goose their ad revenue (even if they don’t roll this feature out immediately).

The one thing that I noted on the first evening of having access to Google Buzz is that interest was fading fast. While Google Buzz was ranked 4th in hot search topics in the USA, it dropped to the 10th spot within 20 minutes (see below).

Let’s hope that tomorrow’s a better day for this shinny new service.

Well over the weekend, FourSquare sent me an alert that one my friends was at the Nike Factory Store, a nearby discount outlet. As soon as I saw it, I wanted to send him a note and ask him if there are any good deals on Nike running gear (I think that their Dri-FIT products are the ultimate but that’s a topic for another blog). While I could have called or sent him an email, I wanted to sent him a text and ask but that feature wasn’t available. I swear that I looked EVERYWHERE and came up empty handed.

While FourSquare is a great tool that allows you to keep up with your friends, it is missing a texting feature that allows you to quickly “chat” with them. Text messaging is the preferred mode to communicate, especially when you’re mobile (source). If it was there, I would have another reason to get out and stimulate the economy.

While Twitter is free social media tool, there’s a price that one pays for tweeting. For example, there are plenty of good incidents caused by an embarrassing celebrity tweet (source). Aside from Hollywood celebrities, we’ve also had a local incident where a VP at the Atlanta PR firm Ketchum mistakenly used Twitter to exclaim that he “would die” if he had to live in Memphis while visiting his client, FedEx (source). This was a problem since Memphis is where FedEx is headquartered. Talk about a real Homer Simpson “Doh!” moment.

Until now, the price of tweeting was simply facing temporary ridicule and a small boo-boo to your online reputation. But that’s all changed now that data-mining firm Rapleaf announced that they collect data from Twitter to determine if you’re credit worthy demographics data in the public domain that’s exposed through social networking sites. According to an article in Fortune Magazine (source), the people that you “hang out” with can be used to determine if you’ll pay your bill on time. Yikes!

As a regular user of Twitter and Facebook, I’m less worried about what I say because I’m well aware that my statements are in the public domain. But, I’m reconsidering who I’m planning to follow or be-friend online. As a social networking contributor, you should consider whether you’re willing to allow a social networking site to expose that information to a search engine, like Google.

I guess that the quip “Be slow in choosing your friends” rings true.

Not all URL shortener services have followed the same growth pattern. It is clear from the above that tinyURL.com has hit a plateau. It seems that Bit.ly has done well because their service has been integrated into multiple applications (eg: see NYTimes iPhone app and Feedly).

This service is a good strategic move for Google since URL shorteners are playing a larger role in extending the reach of digital content. As social media sites grow and smartphones adoption increases, users will become more reliant on these solutions.

I just think that the news release comes at an odd time because Bit.ly announces their new Bit.ly Pro service on the same day (thanks to @NickJAyers for the tip). The new service allows bloggers to offer their users a custom branded, URL shortening solution (note: the solution is built on top of the bit.ly platform). As part of the announcement, Bit.ly publicized the fact that several well known Web publishers and bloggers have signed up to use this service. Additionally, the new solution includes a more robust visualization engine for the analytics data (which now better competes with Google Analytics).

The launch of Goo.gl feels a bit like a disorganized, knee-jerk reaction to Bit.ly’s news — maybe even an attempt to take the wind out of Bit.ly’s sails. I say that because the release lacked any substantial marketing materials or formal developer documentation, which Google bundles as part of a new product launch (hey Google — where’s my YouTube video? I got one with Google Goggles). One can understand that Google now sees Bit.ly as a real threat because Bit.ly Pro further extends the amount of data the Bit.ly will collect about user behavior and that’s Google’s home turf. Clearly, the gloves are off in the fight to dominate the URL shortening marketplace.

NOTE: For some odd reason, I can easily type the word Bit.ly but Goo.gl doesn’t roll out the same way. Whenever I type this, I end up with Goog.l which is incorrect. I’m wondering if anyone else is having this problem or if it is just me?

WordPress

Recently, the WordPress development created multiple flavors of their platform. One of the flavors is called BuddyPress. It is described as a social networking layer on top of a multi-user WordPress installation. The primary difference between the standard WordPress platform and this flavor is that BuddyPress is pre-configured with standard, social networking functionality, including:

• User Profile
• Statuscasting (Activity Stream)
• Buddylist
• Forums

The WordPress team recognizes the future convergence of blogging and social networking platforms, especially for internal collaboration. Both kinds of platforms allow users to participate in two way communications, which is the hallmark of Web 2.0 websites. Microsoft has also recognized this trend and has responded by releasing SharePoint 2010.

As an internal collaboration solution, BuddyPress posses slew of social networking features that enterprises require, including LDAP/AD integration (thank you @apeatling). But enterprises also require LDAP/AD integration capabilities to assist with user management (since one would expect more users/employees at enterprise installations than at small business installations). The shear number of users/employees makes LDAP/AD integration a critical user management feature to enterprises. However, employees may start the collaboration process via a tool other than a blog (eg: a Wiki, an email, a chat session, etc.). And regardless of where they start, enterprises need to utilize a social measurement tool to better understand the value of their community to their members. These tools are present in enterprise solutions such as Telligent (see Harvest social measurement tool). Of course that comes at a price.

For now, BuddyPress is the prefect social networking solution for companies where the conversation originates in a blog or forum.

The above is a screenshot of the console client of me connecting to our Wave Server. If you’re old school, you’ll recognize the telnet-like screenshot. Unfortunately, it is nothing like the slick Wave client that Google provides.

That got me thinking — are there no good Wave Clients out there?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve used Waveboard and I think that federating a Google Wave server is cool but what I really want to do is to share the Google Wave love with those at our company that do not have a Wave account at the moment.