Jul 13

Inside Facebook: Facebook’s Application Profile Box Deprecation Process Is Starting Now

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This is a repost of an article that originally appeared at Inside Facebook

Late last week, Facebook said that its profile box deprecation process, which it originally announced a few months ago, would begin this week. According to that post, application profile boxes would no longer be able to be added to user profile pages starting this week, and starting in “early August,” application boxes would be booted from the profile page altogether.

Today, Facebook got a little ahead of schedule, as it actually removed application boxes from profile pages altogether for a few hours. They’re now back – but despite some user complaints, they’re still slated for permanent removal soon.

Facebook’s treatment of application integration with the profile page has been an interesting story over the years since the Platform launched. Initially after the Platform opened in 2007, profile boxes became an extremely powerful way for applications to spread “virally.” At that time, app boxes could be installed on user profile pages in either a “wide”format on the right side of the page, or a “narrow” format on the left side of the page.

Since then, however, Facebook has taken significant steps to change the way apps have presence on the profile. Facebook removed the “wide” format option, and height-limited the “narrow” format option, instead encouraging developers to get users to publish News Feed items and install tabs for their applications. While this hurt distribution for many apps that were primarily designed to be viral profile widgets, Facebook actually largely viewed allowing profile boxes so much profile real estate as a danger for the long term growth of the service.

Why? Ultimately, Facebook believed that allowing too much flexibility in profile design would affect user engagement. As a result, while other sites like MySpace allow relatively deep customization of the profile page for “self expression” purposes – everything from background images to color palettes – Facebook has instead chosen to make the stream the consistently dominant element of the profile page. It’s almost as if Facebook views profile boxes as a mistake, that they’ve had to gradually undo over the last couple of years.

So, just as one final note to developers: all profile boxes will be removed soon.

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  3. Facebook Developer Blog: Profile and Page Roadmap Update [Profile Boxes to be Removed Aug 23,2010]
  4. All Facebook: Facebook Axes Profile Boxes, Again
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One Response to “Inside Facebook: Facebook’s Application Profile Box Deprecation Process Is Starting Now”

  1. Kai Spell
    September 12, 2010 at 6:17 pm
    I like Facebook and so far many of the changes to it have been made well with the end user in mind,however,there is an overall sense created by some of the actions Facebook has taken that leads one to think that it has more to do with what Facebook wants to do regardless of what the users have to say think or feel about it.Many wanted things to not change from the original abilities of the site but progress I think has made it better and after all the concerns about security.I think Facebook has addressed those issues fairly well with its improvement intents but one red flag such as the control Facebook assumes of choices by the user for them without any choice or ability to communicate to Facebook so that they understand is almost non-existant.Facebook represents itself as a free place to be social and safe and secure but its actions limit social interaction,freedoms and choices or control that would allow better security with personal controlled restrictions to privacy rather than Facebook controlling and deciding those attributes for the people and users.Facebook has blocked people from sending adds for friend requests for various reasons but in the end it is the people whom need to make those decisions whether to choose to allow a certain number of friends rather than limited to Facebook's number of 5000 rather than making additional pages for requested friends and fans.Facebook should not block anyone for sending requests but not allow for third-part bots to send them.Facebook should only block those whom have committed crimes to deserve blocking from the site and then allow people the freedom to choose their friends and how many requests they want to receive thus making it a true social site rather than become perceived as "big brother" of controlling social norms of people to some unknown end.These are some good ideas I or anyone would nominally choose and strive for on a site if we created on but they're suggested and requested improvements that Facebook seems to ignore or at least need to notify be some means of communication within the community that they are working on for the users.I realize the site is voluntary but that word means freedom of control and well it may well seem completely otherwise at some undisclosed time and place later down the road.Whom knows until we do.Please remember our freedoms are only ours until they are taken away.  

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