Popular Facebook Application Reviews

By staff writer Jonathan Marine

Recently, I gave a decisive and insightful review of the wonderful world of pictures on Facebook. This week I am going to begin reviewing Facebook applications and grade them A through F.

As many of you know, a few months back Facebook opened up the “Facebook Platform,” which provides a framework for developers to create applications that interact with the core features of the site. This essentially means that anyone from a professional IT company to a Level 20 Dungeon Master sipping Mountain Dew in his basement can submit an application to Facebook to be used by any of its 40 million plus members.

I am all for open-source utilities. The internet itself is essentially just that: a huge, bloated, overly-sensationalized open source utility. I think that by allowing anyone and everyone to provide content, you foster a forum of interaction that allows for collaboration on an unparalleled scale. However, with that said, when you open up the doors of creativity and refrain from overt censorship, the end product can range in quality from great to Jesus-fucking-Christ-what-the-hell-is-this? This is blatantly apparent when you start perusing through the applications that have become prevalent on Facebook.

Let’s take a look now at 10 Facebook applications you’ve probably either added or seen on a friend's profile before:

1. Super Wall, Funwall, Advanced Wall

Allow people to post pictures and videos to your wall in addition to text. MySpace rip-off or valuable utility? Read the review/grade >>

2. Zombies, Vampires, Pirates

Recruit your friends to become Zombies (or whatever) with you and ascend through the ranks of Zombie-dom (or whatever). 28 Days Later or pyramid scheme? Read the review/grade >>

3. Virtual Pet, My Garden

Care for your virtual pet or tend a virtual garden on your profile. Entertaining or nerdiest thing ever? Read the review/grade >>

4. Graffiti

Draw lewd pictures or show off your artistic talent. Does it live up to its reputation? Read the review/grade >>

5. Movies (by Flixster)

Accrue points by clicking through questions about movie trivia endlessly. Just another pointless quiz? Read the review/grade >>

6. Gifts (by Facebook)

Send shit like teddy bears, little froggies, charm bracelets, and thongs to your friends. Is it worth $1 each? Read the review/grade >>

7. Friend Rank

Calculate your overall Facebook usage and determine from that how “cool” you are. Accurate or unrealistic? Read the review/grade >>

8. My Favorite Favorites

List the things that matter in your life, like the sports teams you root for and your ethnic heritage. Will it help you hookup? Read the review/grade >>

9. Cities I've Visited, Where I've Been (by TripAdvisor)

Showcase where you've been, where you've lived, and where you want to go. How useful is it? Read the review/grade >>

10. Honesty Box, Secret Wall, Bathroom Wall, Crushes

A category of “anonymous feedback” applications where you type in something you think about a person and it gets posted in their profile. Does it really work? Read the review/grade >>