Facebook Gets New Integrated IM Client

Stitch_Surfs writes "Blognation is reporting that the IM client FriendVOX has gone live for Facebook. This is the first time that Facebook users (of which there are now some 32 million) can communicate with one another from directly within the Facebook application. This development, by UK-based Techlightenment, effectively closes the loop for any external applications to be used (or necessary) for communication among Facebook users.'It will be interesting to see how quickly FriendVox is adopted and could it ever replace Twitter by simply using the Facebook status. The other question is what will Facebook do if FriendVox ever became too popular? Would they seek to buy it or replicate it themselves? This is the real dilemma facing all Facebook developers living inside the Facebook walled garden, and recently this happened when a developer showed Facebook their new marketplace application which would run inside of Facebook. Inside of two weeks Facebook had suddenly launched their own marketplace!'"

Comments

Why.

[Pojut]

While I definately prefer Facebook over MySpace, and while I have found it to be EXTREMELY useful (located some friends I hadn't seen or heard from since middle school...a couple from as far as back as elementary school) I absolutely despise this application crap...part of the allure facebook had for me was that it was clean, simple, and not flashy. While I know that all of these applications are entirely voluntary and they don't just toss them in your face (i.e. you have to actually go browsing in the application section to see them) it still bothers me that Facebook continues to expand like this.

Don't get me wrong...from a business sense, I understand why it's being done. From a lot of my friend's point of view, I notice that a large portion of them like the idea of of the applications...but still. Slowly, Facebook is becoming more and more like MySpace....and that's definitely not good.

Re:Why.

[Anonymous Coward]

Agreed 100%. Facebook used to be "MySpace for college students". Relatively closed network, served the basic functions of finding your friends, organizing events and leaving posts to people you met at a party. It was useful and I was a satisfied user.

Then it was opened to anyone, step 1 towards Myspace - and now the applications and "friend networks" containing hundreds of faceless friends have destroyed the utility of the site and made Facebook into Myspace Two. Some peoples' walls consist of over 50% "THX FOR THE ADD". Ecch! I get like 10 invites a day to "bite this" or "throw a pie that" from my stupider friends who jumped into the application crap whole-heartedly.

Despite what you say about the application section, fact is to get to the wall, the only useful thing on someone's profile, you have to scroll past an increasingly large heap of garish applications.

It is an absolute mess, (though still more functional than Myspace, which appears to serve no useful function) and many of my friends are considering jumping ship whenever a new social networking site like the original Facebook shows up. I for one only kick around there because I organize a lot of beach parties and it is very good at doing mass party invites to a group. well, beach party season is almost over, anyways.

Right now I and a select few friends are playing with Twitter, since we have phones with unlimited data plans. ($5/month at superstore - the best cell deal in canada) The overall Twitter concept is stupid, but all it needs is a working group implementation, and it will rapidly become the new party planner, though it is really no good for anything else.

Developer talking here

[unity100]

Yea, developer of the kind of those in the article. And i would guarantee that the repetition of below act would totally nullify any developer doing any crap for anything that starts with f and ends with k - we developers are a free bunch, not morons :

This is the real dilemma facing all Facebook developers living inside the Facebook walled garden, and recently this happened when a developer showed Facebook their new marketplace application which would run inside of Facebook. Inside of two weeks Facebook had suddenly launched their own marketplace!'"

Re:facebook future

[MadnessASAP]

If you actually paid attention to what you were typing in during the sign up process you would notice that you provided Facebook the password to your e-mail account and gave them permission to access it and find all your contacts. Since you apparently did not realize that this was going on I would suggest that you both:
A) Learn to read things before you fill them out/agree to them, and
B) Resign any position that gives you signing authority at your current job.

jabber/xmpp?

[hitmark]

why not create a jabber/xmpp based solution?

that way any recent non-specific im client should be able to access it, and gtalk at the same time.