You Know You Want It

We’ve got a couple of very, very cool Facebook applications going live this week, and I’m excited to introduce the first of those — I Want, built on behalf of one of our clients, ThisNext. Check it out here: apps.facebook.com/wantitnow. I Want is a social shopping application. Users tell the world what they’re looking for ("a non-dorky snowboarding helmet"; "sporty sunscreen"; etc.), and other users recommend products that fit the bill.

I Want is something relatively new for Facebook — a true application with a purpose, not just another communication device or game. For ThisNext, Facebook is about much more than games. Like many successful destination web sites, ThisNext hopes to expand its footprint on the web and its touchpoints with customers into places where those touchpoints can be more contextual, relevant and personalized.

While it’s fun to tell people we "build applications on Facebook," it’s serious business, too. Facebook, and its compatriots in the OpenSocial Network, are building a parallel web that’s based as much on community as content. Even after people get tired of "super-poking" each other, there will be money to be made and businesses to grow.