If you don't know what this is all about, Facebook told developers with applications in their Apps directory months ago that they were implementing a "Verification" program that would enable us to differentiate our apps by having them in a paid tier of the Application store. These applications would represent the cream of the FB app crop, and so on.
Initially I said, "oh yeah gotta do that, anything for more credibility". I love FB development, have a couple of apps out there, and was excited about the differentiation. But I hesitated, then stopped...what exactly do I get, by paying $375 to get my app listed as "Verified"?
I know they're overhauling the overall Apps directory: all apps get a new profile page with their own news feeds, there's a new Applications You May Like section, an auto-generated list that combines the most popular apps on the site, apps your friends are using (oh great, "Flair"), and apps Facebook thinks you might like, based on what you're currently using...ok, that's all good stuff, it creates buzz, makes it all more visible, etc.
But as far as "verified", aside from saying "I have a verified app" to the world, here's the checklist of "what you get", as far as I know:
- A green check mark next to the rating stars under your app name/icon.
- A Facebook "Verified App" icon on your about page.
- A "two-bucket boost" in requests and notification allocations, which "continue to be subject to the application reputation system which adjusts allocations based on various user response metrics".
- A $100 Facebook advertising credit.
- Discounted registration fees to FB-type events.
Here's a photo of the new overall app listing showing apps with the green check mark, and a photo of the verified logo from an about page:
Yeah, it's a good little kudo. But overall, I'm not going to rush to shell out $375 bucks for this, and I have a feeling many shops that crank out FB apps aren't going to tell their clients, "Oh yeah you GOTTA submit for verification". There's a lot of other ways to get the word out about an app: Twitter, FB fan pages, all the other social network mechanisms, you name it.
This sort of reminds me of that "Windows Compatible" app signing program that Microsoft ran (or whatever the actual verbiage was); after a while, nobody cared anymore. Install instructions for apps that aren't branded this way warn you that it didn't have this accolade, and just told you to "Proceed Anyway", which is exactly what we all do. I never made an app choice because it had the OS manufacturers "compatible" logo on it.
Facebook also says this:
"Facebook's Application Verification Program is an optional program designed to provide applications with a way to stand out and reassure users that they will provide a good experience. Users of verified applications can feel confident that these applications strive to be transparent about how they work and respect social expectations between friends."
What about the rating system, the discussion boards you can place around the app, the overall reputation system? If I look at this and see a lot of slag, I'm not going to touch that app. If my friends, or just a lot of people in general, say it's great, I might check it out. It's true, I may be somewhat more initially inclined to give an app a chance if it's verified, if there's no other data available. But I'll always consider what people say more heavily than I will consider any green checkmark.
Another thing: many, many popular Facebook apps are here-today-gone-tomorrow. Would you spend $375, and wait, to get such an app verified? Probably not. Is that a good thing? Again, a lot of these apps run well and are popular, they're just not built for a long shelf life. I'm not sure that shuffling such apps to the "ordinary" category is the right thing to do.
I'm surprised to find myself cynical about this, because I think Facebook does a great deal for the indie application developer. You can get an app, with robust social graph integration, into the FB world, for the price of learning their API and building something halfway decent. That's a great deal, both for the developer (exposure) and Facebook (content).
But I think I'm going to hold onto my $375 and see how this plays out before I submit Planet Sudoku for verification. Even that might be a mistake though, because it's possible that the only time "Verified" will really matter is when it launches, and a little while after. When the novelty wears off, yeah you can still submit, but it might be just to get a verified app on your resume.
Facebook will undoubtedly shuffle this one around a bit as they get feedback and so forth though...or, if it's just pointless and/or more trouble than it's worth, dumb it down or even abandon it. Unlikely, even very unlikely, but not, imho, in the realm of impossibility.
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