Facebook Apps: Highlights of the 60 New Integrated Applications




If you enjoy using Spotify or Foursquare on Facebook, imagine having the same integration with a bevy of other apps. Now you can share more than just your location, music tastes and which story you enjoyed reading on the Washington Post that day using Social Reader.

Facebook’s announcement on Wednesday of 60 new apps has some people scratching their heads and asking, “How will this look on my timeline?” Until now only a selection of apps were integrated with Facebook’s Open GraphSpotify, Foursquare, Washington Post’s Social Reader. This new set of apps lets users share many more actions with their Facebook friends — like running, cooking, shopping and more — creating a dynamic timeline profile.

Say for instance you review a winery on TripAdvisor (one of the new integrated apps). TripAdvisor will ask if you want to share the review on Facebook (which is not novel), but when you allow the review to be shared, it becomes part of your Timeline profile, as well as posts to the news feed. What you share will linger on your timeline profile rather than being pushed down in the feed the next time your post something.

Facebook unveiled their Open Graph platform at the f8 conference in September 2011. The new apps give users a way to share more than just “likes.”

Here’s the full list of 60 integrated Facebook apps.

Some highlights:

Gogobot is fun if for only one reason: to create a passportlist of cities you’ve visited. Sift through photos of cities and add them to your passport where you can write reviews and upload personal vacation photos.

Artfinder is a really neat app that’s like having an art museum curator in your pocket. Identify works of art simply by snapping a photo and letting the app analyze the snapshot. Help grow the database if you know the artist’s name and title of the piece by entering it in the app. Artfinder can also direct you to nearby galleries. This would be a handy app to have for a self-guided museum tour or while shopping vintage stores or flea markets for artwork.

Causes lets you get involved with issues you care about. Sort through a variety of topics and select the ones you wish to learn more about: International Development, for instance or Women’s Empowerment. Then read about how you can take action or donate. Encourage awareness by sharing what you care about to your Facebook friends.

Big test looming? Grockit is a social study tool that’s customizable and connects you with friends on Facebook. Study guides are available for middle school, high school, college and graduate students — from the SAT to GRE. The program has some hefty research behind it, too. Experts in curriculum design who’ve worked for Apple and Houghton Mifflin helped create some of the lesson plans on the app. Study solo or connect with study partners on Grockit. Let your Facebook friends know you’re studying on Grockit and boast about the latest badges you’ve earned on the site.

With Runkeeper you can track and save your routes, even distinguish which ones are cycling and jogging routes. Runkeeper also tracks downhill skiing routes, hiking, swimming, skating, rowing and other activities. Inform your network when you complete a run and how far you went. If you want, you can include your current fitness status and the goal you’re trying to reach (run a marathon, etc.).

Snooth let you “taste” wines on Facebook. Click the “taste” button to post reviews of wine and rate them on a five merlot-glass-scale. Read others’ reviews, sift through wine guides and browse bottles by region.

Which of the new apps have you integrated into your timeline? Tell us in the comments.

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