AppFactory To Boost Facebook

Facebook looks set to take a leap to the head of the social networking pack with the introduction of AppFactory.   AppFactory has been funded by venture capital firm Bay Partners to give awards to developerswho write applications specifically for Facebook. There are plans to make a total of 50 awards ranging from $25,000 to $250,000.   It’s only two months since Facebook opened itsapplication programming interface (API), allowing developers to create widgets to run on the site. But this new move seems to be a spur to find the desirable, so-called “killer apps” thatwill give Facebook a huge advantage over its rivals.   Both MySpace and LinkedIn have announced they will open theirAPIs to developers. But they find themselves trailing Facebook.   “It seems Facebook will have a very large lead and, for a while, will be the de facto standard,” said SalilDeshpande, a partner at Bay Partners. That means that “other social networks, when they open up their APIs, may be forced to design their APIs to be at least compatible — if not identical –to Facebook’s.”   Facebook currently has 29 million members, far behind MySpace’s 70 million. Facebook was founded in 2004 as a social network for college students, and only recentlyopened its gates to the general public.   Bay Partners said they’d also commit technical and business help to developers. They’ve already received over 30 applications for theAppFactory program.