SPAMBook

Today I ask one question:

Why don't more people take issue with the Facebook application invitation model?

I noticed recently that some of these applications insist upon me annoying other people with invitations if I wish to "play". This necessity marries with an attitude in a post I read a while back from a FB app developer giving FB a hard time for forcing invites to be issued X at a time, accusing FB of ruining opportunities for app developers. Perhaps giving with one hand, taking with another would be more accurate, but either way, well within FBs rights, and a partial move in the right direction to avoid some of this invite spam.

The typical scenario today:

My real-world contacts are invited by another to try an application. They accept where I would normally choose not to, and are presented with a random list of a number of their friends, all ticked off. The implication - "annoy this person with an invite for this application that I haven't even used yet".

It doesn't in many cases represent any real intent on the part of my friend - they just want to get on with it, and apathetically or ignorantly let the invites go. Ping - another row in my right-side bar. Doc searls illustrates this today whilst making what I assume is a smarter point below his image.

In my ideal Facebook application, hopefully enforced by some Facebook terms and conditions on the application provider, here is what I want:

Friend has invited you to try this application. Click here to try..Click.. Application actually appears and I can use it, evaluate it, etc. If at any time I want to invite people, give me an option to do so, and if you wish even push the issue when I exit, but not with a pre-ticked list of friends. I want a friend browser complete with search and network filter, with "Invite" buttons alongside (imagine Blockbuster's online rental service, replacing DVDs with friends). That way I can locate the people I actually think might enjoy the application, I won't annoy people through apathy or ignorance, and best of all, if i'm really lucky, i'd never receive the initial invite, because in 95% of cases, I have no interest in these stupid applications anyway.

That would be more akin to the Facebook I liked enough to check regularly pre-applications, as opposed to the Facebook of today. It used to be a powerful communication/information tool. Those existing features have been hidden behind this application SPAM. Enough.