Aug 25

“Tune out” your Facebook friends with Altoids

By Josh Martin Facebook, Social Games, Social Media View Comments

Altoids, yes the breath mints, has launched a genius application that allows you to create a list of a few of your Facebook friends (those who matter the most) and tune out everyone else. This app has perfect timing as it seems everyone is complaining about how their news feed is filled with unwanted updates (now including Places check-ins) from friends.

The Tune Out app is available for iPhones, iPads, and a desktop app can also be downloaded from the Altoids Facebook Page on the Tune Out tab. The app is very easy to setup. Once you download the app, you will be prompted to login to Facebook so the app can access your list of friends. From there, just search for those special friends that you want to add to your list. Once your list is complete, you will only be able to see updates from these friends when using the Tune Out app.

I did learn that the app will automatically post notifications. Below is what was posted to the News Feed once I authorized the app. I was hoping to use this app in secret, but it broadcasts a message to your friends that you have decided to “tune out” some of them.

The iPhone app is slick. When you click on one of your friends within the list, it pulls in their activity in a nice, clean format. You can also use this app with Twitter.

What do you think of this app? Would you use it?

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Aug 10

FarmVille, still the most popular Facebook game!?!

By Josh Martin Facebook, Social Games, Social Media View Comments

Can you believe that FarmVille continues to be the most popular game on Facebook? FarmVille currently has around 60 million monthly active users. Back in February, FarmVille had a total of 83 million users, so it has seen a decline over the past few months, but it’s still maintained the top spot among games. Why do you think FarmVille has been able to be the most popular game for so long?

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve been a player of the game (I would be ashamed though if I was this guy). I think most Facebook users have either a love or hate relationship with the farming application. And there are some that experiment and just quit. Regardless of what you think of the game, the stats are impressive. Millions of users are spending countless hours playing the game and spending money on “virtual goods” for their farm. Sources claim that FarmVille maker, Zynga, is doing well over $1 million in revenue a day! It’s a model that other developers are scrambling to duplicate, for obvious reasons.

Below are the top 25 Facebook Games for the month of August, with Zynga dominating the top 7. Do you play any of these games? Which are your favorite?

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Jul 16

Facebook offering FREE Credits

By Josh Martin Facebook, Social Games View Comments

In an effort to get more users to play Facebook games (and ultimately start using Facebook Credits), Facebook is offering users 15 free Credits. I noticed the below message on my Facebook page yesterday. At the f8 conference, I attended a breakout session that focused on Facebook Credits and it was mentioned that Facebook would be offering users free Credits in the future.

Facebook has been aggressively meeting with developers to try to get them to use their virtual currency. Facebook has CrowdStar, LOLapps and RockYou using Credits exclusively in their games. Zynga, the creator of the most popular social game, FarmVille, has been more selective in terms of the applications that offer Credits as payment. Facebook has even pushed Credits to the mobile space with MyTown.

Have you noticed this message for free Credits on Facebook? Do you play any games that use Facebook Credits? If you’re not playing games on Facebook, would you use these Credits to experiment with social games?

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Jul 12

Grow virtual pot on Facebook (seriously)

By Josh Martin Facebook, Social Games, Social Media View Comments

As if FarmVille wasn’t enough, you can now grow virtual marijuana plants on Facebook using  an application called Pot Farm. When I first learned of this app I thought it was some sort of joke, but I quickly discovered that it’s completely real. This app was created by a group of anonymous developers (not surprising) and tasks you with growing pot without getting busted by the forest ranger (all virtual of course).

The app works just like FarmVille: plant, grow, harvest, and sell your crops. There are several different types of marijuana plants you can grow, but each plant has a unique level of “Protection.” Since growing pot is illegal, you have to watch out for “Ranger Dick” who can confiscate your plants. The social features of the game are similar to other “farming” apps – you’ve got options to add neighbors, send and receive gifts, etc.

The Pot Farm app has received some significant buzz within Facebook and has almost 1 million active users. I have to admit, I was shocked that the app hasn’t been shut down, but the following disclaimer is present throughout the app:

THIS GAME CONTAINS IMMATURE SUBJECT MATTER AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR ANYONE UNDER AGE 21. ALL PLANTS AND SITUATIONS DEPICTED ARE ENTIRELY FICTIONAL AND ANY RESEMBLANCE TO REAL LIFE SITUATIONS OR PLANTS IS COMPLETELY COINCIDENTAL. THIS GAME SHOULD NOT BE PLAYED BY ANYONE.

If you want to see more of the app without having to install it (and potentially freaking out your friends & coworkers), check out the video below.

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Feb 28

Goodbye Facebook Notifications

By Josh Martin Facebook, Social Games, Social Media View Comments

According to the Facebook Developer blog, application notifications within Facebook will come to an end tomorrow (March 1, 2010). For those who encountered massive amounts of notifications from their friends each time they signed into Facebook, this is probably good news. Yeah, no more FarmVille notifications! But you’ve probably already figured out how to hide those ;) . For those who do utilize Facebook apps, the results are probably mixed.

Why is Facebook killing app notifications? to simplify Facebook & streamline communication. Part of this effort to simplify communication is the Applications and Games dashboard, the “Add a Bookmark” button (which I love), and the end of notifications.

Now, developers will have 3 options to communicate to users:

  • Counters
  • News within the Apps and Games dashboard
  • Email

Personally, I hope developers will choose to utilize counters (which will be the most similar to how notifications worked before), but I’ve already experienced several apps asking for my permission to use my email address. My fear is that many apps will abuse the email option and reek havoc on my inbox (not that it’s in great shape already). Hopefully I’m wrong, but if app developers mismanage email communication it could really turn people off to their application.

What are your thoughts on no more app notifications? Thrilled or scared for what’s ahead? Let me know in the comments!

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Feb 17

Move over guys, the ladies are gamers [STUDY]

By Josh Martin Facebook, Social Games, Social Media View Comments

According to a recent study by PopCap Games, the average social gamer (games played on social networking platforms) is a 43-year old woman. Majority of social gamers are in fact women (55%) and they play often with 38% of women said they play social games multiple times a day. But don’t worry guys, the women haven’t infiltrated game play within console games like Xbox and Playstation.

Facebook is the most popular place for online games (not surprising). The average social gamer has played at least 6 social games and over half of gamers started playing a game because a friend recommended it or they noticed it on their news feed (which is where I learn about most of the games).

The most popular social game is …. FarmVille. Whether you like FarmVille, hate it, or you played and then quit, it’s hard to deny the volume of people playing this social game – almost 80 million people! According to the study, almost 70% who stated they played Farmville say they play once a week or more.

Below are the current top apps in Facebook. Majority of them with the exception of a few functional apps are social games.

Top 10 Facebook Apps (as of Feb 2010 – via Inside Facebook)

  1. FarmVille – 79 million users
  2. Birthday Cards – 49 million users
  3. Cafe World – 30 million users
  4. iHeart – 27 million users
  5. Facebook for iPhone – 27 million users
  6. Happy Aquarium – 27 million users
  7. Texas HoldEm Poker – 26 million users
  8. FishVille – 25 million users
  9. Mafia Wars – 25 million users
  10. Causes – 24 million users

Were the results of the study surprising to you? Do you like playing social games? If so, do you play them consistently or is it only for a short period of time?

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