Facebook Apps:
Thinking about UI
in a social way
Wayne Graham, UVa
Arin Sime , OpenSource Connections

About Us
• Wayne Graham • Arin Sime
• Software consultant with
• MA in History
OpenSource Connections
• 10 years in higher ed/digital
• UVa grad student at McIntire
humanities
• Community Development • Adjunct instructor at VCU
• Geek • Working on challenge based
fundraising tools for Facebook
• Facebook API Developer’s
Guide

http://www.redstamp.com/products/1931-Who-Cares-Sticky-Notes-Anne-Taintor

Is this a good idea
• 300+ million users
• Advertise events
• Connect with
students and
prospective
students
• Limits...

Web APIs
• Extend existing
applications
• Web services...
• Mashups
http://www.internetannoyanceday.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/programmer.jpg

Facebook API
Workflow

Official Libraries
• Java
• PHP 5
• JavaScript
• iPhone (Objective C)
• ActionScript 3
• Force.com

Unsupported Libraries
Android •
•
Lisp
Perl
I can haz
•ASP.net • Python
• Ruby
•Cocoa
• Smalltalk
•ColdFusion • Tcl
• VB.NET
•C++ •
•
Windows Mobile
zembly
my language
•C#
plzkthx

Components
• API (REST calls)
• FQL (Facebook Query Language)
• FBML/XFBML (extension of X/HTML tags)
• FBJS (scrubbed JS)

API Components
• Authorization
• Data Store
• Permissions
• Photo/Video Uploads
• Notification

First Steps
• Add Developer App ( http://www.facebook.com/developers )
• Wiki ( )
http://wiki.developers.facebook.com
• Developer Forum ( )
http://forum.developers.facebook.com/
• Get a sample app
• Write Unit Tests!!!

Yo Dude, I’m real happy for you.
Imma gonna let you finish
but MySpace is one of the best
APIs of all time!!!

From one extreme...
http://apps.facebook.com/thesocialcircles/

... to the other extreme
http://apps.facebook.com/thesocialcircles/

Putting it all together

Facebook
app
lifecycle

1. Get the Add
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2. Setup

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3. Incentivize

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4. Share
Sh

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5. Feed
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6. Come back!
are
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Facebook Athenaeum
• Get Facebook users to library resources
• Provide a social “hook”
• Open Source

Business

Hook

Questions?
Wayne Graham, UVa
http://www.facebook.com/design Arin Sime , OpenSource Connections
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/facebook-tech-talks

Oh yeah, code...

Oh yeah, code...
response =
fbsession.users_getInfo(:uids =>
[fbsession.session_user_id], :fields =>
["first_name", "last_name", "name",
"uid"])

Oh yeah, code...