Facebook and Flex: Rock On!!!

I've been incredibly motivated and enthusiastic about Flex since I first started working with it back in early 2007. I have created Flex based interfaces for desktop apps (C++ container) and medium and large web-based apps. I have always loved Flex for the ease of use and the power it gives to developers.

Flex is, hands down, the best RIA technology available today. Flex is fast becoming the primary technology for building Rich Internet Applications.

Facebook, on the other hand, is the best, most powerful and the fastest growing social networking platform. The real power of facebook is not because of "social" (there's LinkedIn and other websites for that!)... the power is in the "platform". If you don't agree with me, just look at what Apple did with its Application platform! It's making much more money after it opened its platform to developers. Facebook would be nothing but a better and clearner looking LinkedIn, if it wasn't for the applicaiton platform.

Most of my friends use Facebook for the applications. They probably spend 10-20% of their time managing their profile and friends (social graph) and the rest on apps like iLike, Zombies, Mafia War etc etc. Good or bad, these apps have an audience - A global, over 200 million large audience. So, if you have an apps, that costs, say $1, and appeals to only 1% of the audience - you have the potential to make $2 million!!!! THAT'S THE REAL POWER!!!!!

Facebook's Ad Platform is not as good as Google's AdSense, but that is another area that can generate a lot of money for not just Facebook, but the application developers. Under Facebook's COO, Sheryl Sandberg's guidance that will likely change. Check out this Forbes article.

So, if you combine the best RIA technology (FLEX) with the best Social, Application platform (FACEBOOK), you can make a killing!!! You can deliver rich, social experiences on the web.

This is what Adobe Developer Connection website has to say:

The Adobe Flash Platform and Facebook Platform provide the ideal solution for building rich, social experiences on the web. Flash is available on more than 98% of Internet-connected PCs, so people can immediately access the applications, content, and video that enable social interactions. The Facebook Platform is used by millions of people everyday to connect and share with the people in their lives. Together, both platforms allow you to:

• Share: Create rich interactions for users to share with friends.
• Have fun: Make games social; let users compete against their friends.
• Connect: Let users connect to your RIAs with Facebook Connect.
• Solve problems: Build RIAs that harness the power of community.
• Reach people: Reach millions of Facebook users through social distribution.

The new ActionScript 3.0 Client Library for Facebook Platform API, fully supported by Facebook and Adobe, makes it easy to build applications that combine the strengths of the Flash Platform and Facebook Platform.