The usual frenzy and buzz surrounding Facebook will peak today as Facebook has their second developers conference. Mike Arrington thinks he know whats going to be launched.

  • Facebook payments platform
  • Facebook Connect
  • Three tier application system

We’ll have to see what happens, but….

  • The Facebook payments platform will only work is if it is ridiculously easy to pay for something. However, with increased ease of use comes decreased security. My girlfriend has access to my Facebook account. My friends leave themselves signed into my computer occassionally. I leave work signed in to Facebook. No-one regards their Facebook account as particularly sensitive, maybe at most somewhere in between e-mail and your online bank account. How can this be secure, yet usable?
  • It will be nearly impossible to have premium applications that cost money. With the barrier to entry for a Facebook application, free knockoffs relying just on advertising will replace it.
  • There will be a run on Facebook enabling e-commerce stores, assuming Facebook allows this.
  • The tiered application system will be interesting. I have thought for a while that their needs to be a premium tier, where application developers can pay a certain fee to have better listing/support/features. With the top tier limited to a few applications by the top developers, most applications will be fighting not to hit the bottom tier.
  • Facebook Connect… that will be cool.