• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, January 17, 2012

As part of a larger effort unveiled last year, Facebook is expected to launch a new slate of Open Graph applications on Wednesday.

“These are the apps, made by outside developers, that ‘frictionlessly’ and continuously share users’ actions back to Facebook after a user has given permission once,” AllThingsD reminds us.

“One thing that businesses should note about these apps and actions is that they will open the door to some new advertising opportunities, which combined with some other ad-related efforts on Facebook’s part, should fuel revenue nicely ahead of the company’s IPO,” according to WebProNews.

The new apps behave similarly to the “read,” “listen” and “watch” Open Graph applications that have already rolled out in the past few months, which include The Washington Post, Spotify and Hulu. 

“The move was prompted by Facebook’s assertion that the Like button constrained sharing because it was an implicit endorsement of content,” writes Mashable. “Facebook wants users to share everything they are doing, whether it’s watching a show or hiking a trail, so the company decided to create a way to “express lightweight activity.” 

“If you’ve seen posts in your Facebook news feed with what articles your friends are reading or what music they’re listening to, you’ve already seen a glimpse of what Open Graph Actions can do,” writes The Next Web. On Wednesday, Facebook may be announcing more apps that will share your every Facebook Action with your friends -- provided you’ve given them permission of course.

“So every time your friends read an article or listen to a song, you might now learn about it on Facebook, and possibly even join them in reading or listening at the same time,” AllThingsD adds.

“The exact identity of those third-party developers who have been preparing Open Graph apps for reveal tomorrow is unknown,” writes SlashGear. “However, Facebook has said previously that it is working with online news sources such as the WSJ and The Guardian, media sites like IMDB, and other services like Runkeeper and Netflix.”