• The New York Times, Monday, September 10, 2007 11:01 AM

The opening of Facebook, received as a blessing by many software developers, has created a few pitfalls for the social network, too, says The New York Times' Saul Hansell. Last week, TechCrunch reported that one software developer created a program that allows users to change their people's "status" messages without logging into Facebook. Well, Facebook didn't like that, and pressured the guy to remove the program.

"Status" messages are kind of like "away" messages on an instant messaging client, except that "Facebook allows developers to use information from status updates and to add other information to the news feed on users' profile pages," says Hansell. In other words, the system's AI learns from you changing your status on Facebook, not from outside the site.

The developer's program also lessens the amount of time a user spends on the site--a bad thing for any company that is dependent on ad revenue. Imagine, for example, if you could check your Facebook messages without logging into the network. Again, a nice feature for users, but bad for Facebook. The company has been trying to rein in these kinds of programs, because after all, the idea of opening up to developers was all about getting users to spend more and more time there. However, Facebook should be careful; it wants people to spend more time there, sure--but any applications that eliminate clutter or clunkiness should be embraced, or the site runs the risk of developer-and user-backlash.

Read the whole story at The New York Times »