Facebook App Developers: Facebook and Developers Not Getting Along

Facebook App Developers: It is safe to say that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and developers need to have a good relationship for both to perform at their peak. However, it appears that this is far from the case in many situations.

Hedge funds, on the whole, were very bullish on Facebook last quarter. The total size of the funds we track that were invested in the company grew by nearly 40% from Q3; that’s a huge spike (see why it’s always important to pay attention to the smart money).

A recent report in The Wall Street Journal takes a closer look at this this problem in greater detail.

The article starts out by detailing the relationship between the social networking giant and Vintage Camera, a popular photo sharing application.

While Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) may not have put much time into the decision, it has a huge impact on Vintage Camera. Here is some more information from the WSJ article, touching on the app developer and overall effect of the decision:

“Mr. Morcos, 31 years old, instantly lost nearly half a million registered users who only accessed Vintage Camera through the social-networking site. Facebook, without being specific, said too many users had complained about Vintage Camera, said Mr. Morcos. He appealed, arguing his app fielded less than three complaints for every 1,000 photos shared, but Facebook didn’t budge.”

While Facebook had a reason for shutting the app down, at least in their mind, it is disappointing to realize that the company was not willing to discuss the situation in greater detail with Morcos. This is particularly troubling being that Morcos did not agree with the number of complaints.

Since the early days of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), the company has had a love and hate relationship with developers. Unfortunately, things may be moving more towards “hate” in the near future since they plan on “curbing spam and restricting apps that aren’t adding sufficient value to the network.”

While Facebook talks about cutting back on spam and apps that don’t add value, developers have a difficult take. Here is what the article says:

“Developers say the crackdown is an attempt to stifle applications that compete with Facebook-owned services or part of an effort to get developers to pay for ads on Facebook.”

What do you think about this developing story? Which side are you on? Share your opinion in the comment section below.

Check back here for more updates on Facebook App Developers.

DISCLOSURE: I have no positions in any stock mentioned.

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