Lalit, BitRhymes presentation at Facebook Developer Garage Bangalore on "FB plaform best practices" and their experience in building social games for 20+ million users.

1. Facebook Platform Best Practices
Lalit Patel, BitRhymes.
www.bitrhymes.com
Facebook Developer Garage, Bangalore. 10/10/10

2. About BitRhymes
• Who are we?
• Started in 2007, based out of Bangalore and Silicon Valley
• 26 people team at Bangalore.
• What we do?
• Social Games on popular networks Facebook and
MySpace
– 6 Titles on Facebook, 9 Titles on MySpace
• Market Position
– 20 million users and growing fast.
– #3 Developer on MySpace (4 apps in top 20)

3. Facebook Apps: Best Practices
1. FBML vs iFrame
2. Virality
3. Retention
4. Metrics
5. Monetization
6. Tips / Common Pitfalls
7. Q&A

4. 1. FBML vs iFrame: Comparision
• iFrame: Flexibility, Javascript independence.
• Facebook JS library gives excellent features to
implement almost all FBML features.
• FB recommends iFrame apps.
– No new FBML apps from late 2010
http://developers.facebook.com/roadmap
• Few FBML tags are not available in iFrame (but not a
show stopper)
• FBML is faster to implement.

5. 1. FBML vs iFrame: How it works
• App: http://apps.facebook.com/your_app/
• Callback: http://www.example.com/canvas/
• You type:
http://apps.facebook.com/your_app/foo/bar
• iFrame loads (FBML App fetches code from):
http://www.example.com/canvas/foo/bar

6. 2. Virality: Requests
• Until few weeks back was supposed to be retired.
Now the ONLY viral channel
• Can be sent to friends not playing the app
• Most efficient way to get users to the game.
• Quota/Bucket
– Number of requests your users can sent to their friends is
calculated based on accept/ignore/block ratios.
– Anywhere > 50% accepts is very good. Ignore 75% accepts
Facebook shows as Avg of all apps. That number is wrong
and impractical.
– If your request quota goes down your virality goes down

7. 2. Virality: Requests
• Tip: You can add tracking code to request to check
with requests works best.
<fb:req-choice
url=“http://example.com/accept_req.php?ref=request
_type=1" />
• Tip: There are two type of requests:
– Invitation & Request
– Quota is shared between both of them

8. 2. Virality: Requests
• Recent change to the way requests are shown on
user’s home page.

9. 3. Retention: Feeds
• Recent Changes in the FB Privacy Policy:
– Feeds wont be shown on friends not playing the app ->
The most efficient way to attract new users disappeared
overnight with no pre announcement!
– Now you do not need to ask for users permission to show
him feed dialog box . Ensure that as every click reduces by
20%
– http://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/409
• Tip: Add tracking info to feeds to judge performance.
• Tip: Comments / Likes on the feed promote it to the
top in the user’s news feed. (API also available.)

10. 3. Retention: Bookmarks + Counter
• New Bookmarks menu on LHS
• Automatically added for your application when user
starts using it
• Once a user has your bookmark, you can set a
counter which will appear next to it.
• Counters remind users of actions they need to take
within your application.
$facebook_api->dashboard_incrementCount($uid);

11. 3. Retention: Like
• Make users like your application.
• Helps you post Application Updates to your Fans
(people who Like the app)
• Updates appear on your Fan’s news feed.

12. 3. Retention: Like
• Facebook has made it real easy to add `Like` button on
your app.
• You should prompt users to like the app and reward
them with some bonus in the game.
• XFBML:
<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js
#xfbml=1"></script> <fb:like></fb:like>

13. 3. Retention: Email
• Applications can ask for users Email address at the
time of adding the app (or later)
<?php
$user_id = $facebook->require_login($perm_string);
?>
• Applications can then email users directly about
updates and notifications in the app.

14. 4. Metrics: Facebook Insights
• Facebook Insights (http://facebook.com/insights)
– Excellent data driven insights on your applications
performance
• Users
– Daily Active Users
– Daily New Users
– Demographics
• Gender and Age / Countries / Language
– Visitors Sources
– Daily New Bookmarks Add/Remove

15. 4. Metrics: Facebook Insights
• Daily Permissions
– Stream/Email/ Grant/Revoke
– Daily Blocks
• Daily Request Feedback
– Accept/Ignore/Blocks
• Feeds Performance
– Posted / Comments+Like / Hides

17. 4. Metrics: Google Analytics
• Google Analytics works for both iFrame / FBML apps.
• Provides tracking of complex user behavior.
• Provides Goals tracking
• Best Practice: use Google Analytics + Insights

18. 5. Monetization
• You can *also* make $$$ out of your applications
• Ways to monitize
– fb Credits (FB API)
– OfferPal / Super Rewards (Vender specific API)
– Implement your own payment gateway (Paypal / CC)

19. 6. Tips / Common Pitfalls
• Submit your application to FB Directory
– Appears in search results inside Facebook.
– Get FB compliance
– Free QA ;)
• Put Privacy Policy on each of your application pages
and Application Profile Page.
– Facebook blocks your apps without notice.
• Developer accounts need to be verified by mobile
number or credit card
• Be prepared to adapt to FB mood swings

20. Questions?
We are hiring!
www.bitrhymes.com/jobs