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It had to happen. If you are going to open up Facebook (FB) to third party applications you have to expect that someone will come along and change things for those who want change.

I hate MySpace because it’s so unbelievably kitch and cheesy. Now FB can be those things too. Have a look at my profile.

I read about the application that allows you to do this on ReadWriteWeb. I am all for democracy and choice and blah blah blah, but I honestly think this is horrid.

What are your thoughts?

The application is put out by PageRage and will definitely help you take one step closer to a MySpace feel to your FB. I’m not convinced about the necessity for this sort of thing.

*Note: You need to install the application to see my profile on Facebook and to see anyone else who has an altered profile. I cannot be held liable if your friends leave you and no one writes on your wall subsequent to adding this application to your Facebook.

I am not a serious programmer at all. I have never claimed to be. But I made the effort to learn the basics and can manipulate CSS. So it frustrates me that all of my Facebook Fan Pages look the same and look like everyone else’s.

Not anymore apparently. I discovered an application that you can add to your FB Fan Page that will allow you to create boxes on your Fan Page that you can code in to. It’s called FBML. If you do a Facebook search for FBML you’ll find a host of other apps and groups that can help you with the application and your skills.

I was somewhat sceptical but decided to give it a go with my South Africa Rocks! Fan Page. It worked.

Now I haven’t spent much time on the two boxes that I have added so they are suffering from lack of attention but the proof that the FBML application works is there.

Have a look:

If you have used this app and have a great example (I know mine isn’t so hot) of what FBML can do, let me know. If you are interested in messing around with it drop me an email or comment and I’ll let you try some stuff out on the SA Rocks Fan Page for some experimentation.

This sort of thing is really dodgy sometimes and thanks to the Sharepointexpert I got wind of this one.

The idea that Mentez.com is proposing is immediately enticing. Especially when R40 000 is up for grabs. But at a second look the terms and conditions are somewhat concerning.

The competition seems to be run in rounds. First you send in an idea, then the best ideas are accepted by judges then you have until sometime in January, 2008 to develop the app. Then, simply by entering the compeition you:

11. By submitting a registration form, each Participant fully and unconditionally
a. Agrees to these Terms and Conditions
b. Authorise Mentez to use their personal data for the purposes of running and promoting the Contest this year and/or in subsequent years;
c. Will be deemed to have read, accepted and agree to be bound by these Contest Terms and Conditions. Participants are advised to print and keep safe these Terms and Conditions.

The full terms and conditions are available here. But let’s move on.

To me, the R40 000 is miniscule when considering the potential of a brilliant local FB app. IT feels like the website is asking brilliant SA developers to write these apps. Then host them with Mentez and negotiate a contract regarding the app thereafter. Hmmm… and who owns the app? The competition winner? The writer of the app? The company, Mentez, who?

15. For the applications that are selected to pass to the development phase of the contest, the participants will have to sign a development, hosting and monetization agreement with Mentez.com. This agreement is readily available for your review and is required to qualify for the second stage of the contest.

Then it seems that if you are unhappy with the outcome of the event you are not allowed to say anything:

22. Participants must not act in any way or fail to act in any way or be associated with any cause or group which would have a negative impact on the reputation of Mentez, the Contest or the Judges.

What happened to freedom of speech? We’ve seen this before on the local scene with the podcast competition earlier this year and others. Now can these competition people stop taking us for accepting, naive bafoons and realise that if we are going to make FB apps, we want the glory, which probably equals more than R40 000 if the app is great. Just my thoughts.

I invite Mentez.com to email me and let me know their thoughts and clearly explain the terms and conditions. I am intererested to focus on the questions of hosting the app, ownership and profit share specifically.

What do you think?