How Facebook killed (most) spam

A Facebook automated system was set up to block apps that users were hiding or marking as spam.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Facebook says app "spam" down 95 percent in the past year
• The site used automated tools to detect which apps users were hiding or marking as spam
• If too many users marked something as spam, Facebook blocked it

RELATED TOPICS

• Facebook Inc.
• Internet
• Information Privacy

(Fast Company) -- Do you "like" receiving Facebook messages about, say, your buddy Rich's new row of corn in FarmVille?

If not, you're in luck: Facebook CTO Bret Taylor told Fast Company earlier this week that it's just those kind of messages the company focused on while looking to cut down on spam in the system -- way down.

Mission accomplished. Such spam was down 95% in 2010. That's an impressive achievement. But the backstory to how the company accomplished that feat reveals some of the internal thinking that could be key to Facebook's ability to continue to grow efficiently -- and become an all-around ever-stronger product -- in the years to come.

The spam Facebook was targeting were those annoying messages from the likes of FarmVille or Mafia Wars (about Rich and his corn or whatnot) that used to pollute users' NewsFeeds.

Game companies liked them, because they raised awareness and helped recruit new users. But, said Taylor at the Inside Social Apps conference on Tuesday, the company soon realized that that was just a bad experience for many Facebook citizens. (Indeed, search Google for "stop Farmville notifications," and you'll get over 50,000 results.)

"Our focus coming into 2010 was really around user experience," Taylor said. "The reactions to some of the decisions we'd made as a product team [and] a platform team were not universally positive ... . So going into the year, we were trying to build a scalable way of dealing with this problem."

It was also a bad experience for both Facebook itself and for application developers. When Facebook started noticing that a particular kind of message was getting a negative response among users, employees would contact developers and suggest design changes.

That was bad for Facebook -- it sucked up employee bandwidth -- and it was bad for developers, who felt like Facebook was micromanaging them.

Interestingly, Facebook decided not to go the law and order route. They didn't start writing out long lists of rules about what kinds of messages would be allowed and what kinds wouldn't.

Instead, Taylor told Fast Company in an interview following the talk, they built an automated system that monitored each individual message -- and then took action, again, automated, against the specific messages that seemed to be bothering users.

Specifically, the system tracks whether recipients hide certain messages or mark them as spam, or whether they click "Like" on the message or comment on it, or whether they actually click through to see the application itself.

"Using a bunch of signals like that, we're able to infer the likelihood that something is a high-quality message," Taylor said. Or, alternatively, if it is low quality.

If too many recipients hide a message or mark it as spam, Facebook automatically starts blocking it.

The application developer is notified -- also through an automated system -- and has to go back to the drawing board to develop something recipients respond to more favorably. And if an application sends nothing but low-quality messages, Taylor said the system simply turns the application off altogether.

"What's great about this is that we no longer need to micromanage every interaction," Taylor said. "We just measure the output."

On top of that, Taylor said Facebook has been able to cut its policies--the law-and-order rules developers must follow -- by half. It doesn't need as many. Facebook simply evaluates applications based on their real-world performance, rather than by anticipating every possible eventuality and developing legislation around it.

The upshot has been good for all parties involved: Facebook users find the place more enjoyable, now that they're no longer being updated on buddy Rich's farming ventures. Facebook needs to devote fewer resources to managing developers, at least in this sphere.

Developers no longer feel nitpicked. And while some application developers may feel like they can't grow as fast as they used to, the experience of CityVille (which reached an astounding 100 million users in a mere 43 days) demonstrates that there are still ways to enable viral growth without being overly annoying.

All of which bodes well for Facebook. The better experiences it can create while minimizing the demand on its own resources, the faster it will be able to grow, and the more loyalty it will get from its users and developers.

Unlimited data for the iPhone? Don't bet on it long term By Amy Gahran, Special to CNN

Verizon and AT&T have sent confusing signals to current and would-be iPhone users about data service costs.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Access to a torrent of fast data on the go is what makes these devices so useful
• AT&T iPhone customers who once had unlimited data plans may be able to switch back
• When cell signal strength is weaker, phones work harder to stay in touch with the network

RELATED TOPICS

• Smartphones
• Apple iPhone
• AT&T Inc.
• Verizon Communications Inc.

Editor's note: Amy Gahran writes about mobile tech for CNN.com. She is a San Francisco Bay Area writer and media consultant whose blog, Contentious.com, explores how people communicate in the online age.

(CNN) -- Lately, Verizon and AT&T have been sending confusing signals to current and would-be iPhone users about how much data service for this trendy device will cost.

Earlier this week, CNN Money reported that in one day, Verizon both announced that it would offer a $30 unlimited data plan for the iPhone, and then backpedaled by saying that offer would be available only for an unspecified "limited time."

And Thursday, The Associated Press reported that, through an unadvertised loophole, AT&T iPhone customers who once had unlimited data plans may be able to switch back. This includes customers who owned an AT&T iPhone before June 2010 (when AT&T introduced its tiered iPhone data plans).

I understand why consumers would want unlimited data plans for the iPhone, or any smartphone. Access to a torrent of fast data on the go is what makes these devices so useful and cool. It's what makes most smartphone users willing to pay $100 or more per month -- to keep that data flowing at will.

Also, I understand that in a more competitive iPhone market, the carriers would be tempted to give consumers the pricing they want in order to lock more customers into new two-year contracts.

But the catch is that there are limits to how well wireless networks can deliver data to the growing profusion of smartphones and tablets. Carriers and consumers need to find ways to work within those limits, or else all those fancy, pricey new smartphones will quickly turn sluggish as network traffic jams mount.

As I wrote last June, the more I learn about mobile network technology, the more I'm amazed that mobile broadband works at all. In the current wireless technological environment, it makes sense for carriers to try to control demand (or help fund network expansion) via tiered data pricing plans.

This might not be so unpleasant for consumers if it were easy for smartphone users to monitor and control their mobile data use. But often, that's not that simple.

Smartphone users can log into their account on their carrier's website or via an app to check their data usage so far. But typically, you can see only the total amount of data you've used so far -- nothing about how fast you're consuming data, or which apps or functions are using the most data.

AT&T and Verizon (at least Verizon LTE) will send customers on tiered plans a text message when they're nearing a data limit. However, most consumers probably don't know the most effective ways to curb mobile data use in response to this alert.

Depending on what's on your phone, where you are (local network conditions) and how you use your phone, simply not streaming video until your next billing cycle may not be enough to avoid extra fees.

A bigger problem is that users have no control at all over one of the fastest-growing parts of their phones' data diet: signaling traffic. This is the constant communication between your network and your mobile device -- not just to determine your location, but to keep your apps updated and to help the carrier manage network traffic.

Smartphone users get charged for signaling traffic to and from their phones. However, for the most part, they cannot control this part of their mobile data use.

For instance, when cell signal strength is weaker, your phone has to work harder to stay in touch with the network (which is why a weak signal drains battery life). And as more data-intensive mobile devices are added to the network, each device may require more signaling traffic to function.

Some handset manufacturers, including Apple and Nokia, have recently adopted a mobile technology called network controlled fast dormancy (NCFD), which reduces signaling traffic. This gets added to existing handsets through software updates, so it could help control consumer data usage and improve how the overall wireless network functions. (As far as I can tell, it does not seem that NCFD support is available for Android or BlackBerry devices yet.)

The Federal Communications Commission is working on freeing up additional frequencies for wireless networks to use, in an attempt to relieve mobile network congestion in the long term. However, carriers and phone manufacturers would have to adapt their equipment to operate on those frequencies. That would take time.

In the meantime, technologies like NCFD can help smartphone users curb their data hog behavior (and stay within their plan limits) to some extent. However, as more people keep using more smartphones more of the time, network management will remain a significant and costly issue for both carriers and consumers.

So despite current mixed signals from the major carriers, I wouldn't be surprised if all-you-can-eat smartphone data plans were to vanish altogether in the next year or two. If you have one now, you might want to hold on to it -- and hope you get to keep it if you re-up.

The opinions expressed in this post are solely those of Amy Gahran.

Apple's Mac App Store sparks another software gold rush

The Mac App Store is barely a week old, but many developers have seen big sales for their software.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Apple launched the Mac App Store a week ago, spawning success stories
• Like App Stores for other platforms, it's a central place for finding and managing apps
• The store was met with 1 million downloads in its first day

(CNN) -- With the launch of an App Store for the Mac last week, Apple has proved that its all-in-one digital marketplace model -- so successful for the iPhone, iPod and iPad -- can flourish on old-fashioned laptop and desktop computers as well.

Developers with software ready for the store's January 6 opening were met with throngs of click-happy customers.

Mac users have appeared eager to spend money on apps, even for software that was previously available on the Web and in brick-and-mortar stores. Downloads on the first day exceeded 1 million -- out of a pool of about 1,000 apps, Apple said.

Distributed evenly, that works out to 1,000 downloads for each app, although name recognition and how Apple allocates promotion tend to skew results. But some development houses did gangbuster business.

Scott Forstall, Apple's vice president for iPhone software, said last year that the company's iPad would spark "a whole new gold rush for app developers," a prediction that must now apply to the Mac store as well.

App Store winners

One big winner from the Mac App Store launch has been Evernote. The free note-taking app catalogs text and multimedia files; synchronizes them over the internet to be accessed from phones, a website or desktop software; and lets you search through them.

Evernote was downloaded 90,000 times on the App Store's opening day. That's about a 10th of all apps purchased that day. It's been consistently listed in the section of most popular apps.

"Having a well-formed app store is the most important part in getting attention," Evernote CEO Phil Libin said. "We were on the iPhone App Store since that launched as well. We've kind of been through this once before, so we had pretty high expectations of what being in an app store means for getting attention."

The Mac App Store launch, Libin said, "exceeded our expectations."

Being in the Mac App Store helped expose Evernote to 40,000 people who had never used it, he said.

Evernote has also benefited from Apple's promotional efforts in the store. It sometimes gets top billing in a rotating list of featured apps, similar to the top section of the iTunes Store. Apple spokeswoman Jacqueline Roy also listed Evernote among the top five "must-have" apps, which is determined by consistent top performers in downloads and ratings.

Another Mac App Store hit is SketchBook Express, No. 7 on the must-have list. Autodesk, the maker of that free drawing program, says the store "effectively doubled" the number of people using the professional version of SketchBook on opening day. The company declined to provide exact figures.

SketchBook Pro costs $30 on the Mac App Store, versus almost $70 on Amazon.com. It's now among Apple's highest-grossing apps.

A lucrative business model

Apple takes a 30% cut of app sales, which makes its app stores a lucrative business for the company as well as developers. Because of this success, the stores are facing increased competition from Google's popular Android Market, a forthcoming Amazon.com app store and other rivals. This week, Microsoft contested Apple's trademark request for the term "app store."

Free applications benefit from the app store exposure too, even though they don't help Apple's business as directly. For example, Twitter is also on the Apple must-have list. The social networking company launched on the store with its first official desktop client, based on work by the engineer who made the iPhone app.

A Twitter spokeswoman said the company is "pleased" with the results but declined to say how many times the free app had been downloaded.

The app stores have made the software business more of a meritocracy than it's ever been, which really favors geeks like us.
--Evernote CEO Phil Libin

RELATED TOPICS

• Apple Inc.
• Apple Mac OS X
• Apple Macintosh

The App Store program is included as part of a software update for Mac computers running the newest version of the operating system, called Snow Leopard. Further enhancements to the app model will come as part of OS X Lion, which is scheduled to go on sale this summer.

Previously, Mac software could be found on vendors' websites or in stores (in cardboard boxes, no less; how quaint).

For developers, submitting an application to Apple for sale in the Mac App Store can be easier than getting their software on a retailer's shelf, which can require complex business deals. It is also easier to sell through an established app store than through a developer's own website, which can require building payment mechanisms and systems for licensing customers' copies.

Mac owners like the store because it makes software easier to find, manages what's been downloaded, makes it easy to move apps between computers and provides alerts when a new version is available.

Some software makers complain that Apple's rules about what it will accept are too stringent and that the company takes too big a cut of revenue. But Apple doesn't bar developers from distributing their wares in other locations on the Web.

Pros and cons

But are these early success stories sustainable?

Caffeine, a simple utility that helps prevent the computer from automatically going into sleep mode (get it?), did exceedingly well early on. The app has been downloaded more than 135,000 times. About one-third of those sales came on launch day; as for other apps, they have tapered somewhat since.

While daily downloads are decreasing steadily for Caffeine at a pace of about 30% per day, the app continues to attract new customers at a rate several times greater than anytime since it came out four years ago.

"The App Store opens up the opportunity to sell 99-cent apps, which was previously not really feasible, and I think that could bring a lot of new smaller apps," Caffeine developer Tomas Franzen said. "It's a lot easier when they handle hosting and payment for you.

"I'd say I'm a believer" in the app-store model, he wrote. "The App Store makes downloaded software easy for regular people, and it turns out there are a lot of regular people out there!"

However, not every company has the Midas touch for launching app stores. Google, which produced a hit with its Android Market, has drummed up minimal interest in its Chrome Web Store.

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales isn't sold on the app-store concept. At an event in England, Wales spoke out against the idea of app stores, calling them "a threat to a diverse and open ecosystem," according to blog reports.

A magic formula?

But many developers seem convinced that Apple has hit on the right formula.

Scott Gilbert had been planning to build a weather-report app for the iPad or iPhone. The product manager for Swackett immediately changed course when he heard Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveil plans for the Mac App Store in October.

"There's so much competition in the regular App Store," Gilbert said of Apple's mobile software store and its 300,000 apps. "I thought if we could be there on day one in the Mac App Store, we could rise above the noise."

And they did. Swackett was on track to get 100,000 downloads in its first week. The developers are making money from ads, which had been shown 2 million times in six days.

"We would not have come out with a Mac app first if not for the (Mac) App Store," Gilbert said.

And for the 61-person team at Evernote, the App Store is something of a blessing.

"We don't have experts here that think about logistics or channels or distribution or advertising," said Libin, the Evernote CEO.

Evernote had the distribution method in place on its site, but that was created out of necessity, said Libin, who was happy to let Apple take the reins on managing server infrastructure and promotion.

"Before, you used to make a great product, but no one would ever get it or use it or be able to buy it," he said. "The app stores have made the software business more of a meritocracy than it's ever been, which really favors geeks like us."