The 30 Minute Facebook Application
Continuing our series on tapping the power of Facebook, we will demonstrate a way for anyone with an RSS feed to painlessly build a Facebook application in only 30 minutes.
First, what is a Facebook application?
If you are familiar with Facebook, you probably have an application or two on your page or profile already. If not, read here about the various Facebook applications you can utilize. Yes, some of them are silly things that you will never use, but many of them can really help enhance your business Facebook presence. Thousands of people search this application directory every day, so having your own application on Facebook gives you much more exposure within the social community.
Now, creating your application:
To create your 30-minute Facebook application, you will first create a widget of your RSS feed, then turn that widget into an application on Facebook.
1. Gather the following information:
- The URL of your feed or blog
- A good list of key terms that describe your feed or Website (key terms are what people might enter in a Google search box if they want to find your site)
- A title and description of your feed or Website that uses several of your key terms
2. Create a Facebook profile, if you don’t already have one.
3. Get an account at Widgetbox and create a “blidget.” This blidget is a simple widget that contains the listings from your RSS feed that others can customize and place on their blog or Web site (you can see a link to our blidget in the sidebar to the right). Don’t get too hung up on definitions here, though. These tools really are easy to use; all you need is your feed URL, title, description, and key terms or “tags.” It will take 10 to 20 minutes to create your blidget. You can find more information on making a blidget on Widgetbox, here.
4. Now that you have created your blidget, you can turn it into an application on Facebook, Bebo, and a number of other social sites. Widgetbox provides a very easy-to-use interface that will even open your Facebook account in a frame so you won’t have to move back and forth. It is best to be signed into Facebook before you begin the process, though. Click to find out more information about building social applications using Widgetbox.
5. An application needs to have at least 5 subscriptions before it can be listed in the Facebook directory, so invite all of your Facebook friends and fans to subscribe.
And, that’s it! Really. Your very own Facebook application in 30 minutes, give or take…
The Social Media Power team
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Copyright 2008 by Deltina Hay. All rights reserved.
Deltina Hay is the principal of Dalton Publishing and Social Media Power
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Comments
Fascinating. My company has been in development for a while with the purpose of creating and distributing facebook applications. I’ve never heard of these methods before reading your blog. I’m fascinated by this method. Not only does it allow you the ease of creating a solid app, but it can dramatically increase your reader base.
Thanks for the stellar info!
-J
I was a bit skeptical, but this really worked and it took about 20 minutes! Thanks for the stellar info and look for my Facebook profile if you want to see the application I created with this!