Many Facebook users have complained about recent changes to the social networks design. Anyone who uses Facebook or follows Facebook news is probably well aware of that.
Application developers have also been disgruntled since the changes went into effect. And it’s not hard to see why considering that some of the top apps have seen a 25% drop in traffic since the redesign, according to AllFacebook.
Not all developers are so upset, however. There’s a good chance you’ve seen a number of those “pick your five” updates come through your stream. The makers of that app – LivingSocial is just fine with Facebook’s changes.
“Today, LivingSocial became the #1 Facebook application with its highly viral ‘Pick Your Five’ feature, based on 20 million monthly active users (bumping ‘Causes’ down to the #2 spot),” a spokesperson for Livingsocial tells Murdok. “New categories are being added daily in response to user feedback, so now millions of people on Facebook can show off everything [from] favorite countries to bands, fast food to movie scenes, and even childhood cartoons and cereal.”
The app was only launched about 3 weeks ago, and it has already tripled LivingSocial’s user base to over 27 million total users. This includes LivingSocial’s presence on Livingsocial.com, iPhone, Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, hi5 and Orkut.
“For the time being there will be a changing of the guard at the top of the application leaderboard,” says AllFacebook’s Nick O’Neill. “As we’ve learned with this redesign though, leadership positions on the Facebook platform are not the most stable.”
It will be interesting to see how the “pick your five” app holds up over time. Meanwhile, LivingSocial has acquired BuyYourFriendaDrink.com, a grassroots beverage network and “automated sampling solution” for the beer, wine and spirits industry.
