If you're new to developing social applications, it can be difficult to immediately grasp how good applications facilitate fun
and meaningful social experiences. To accelerate your learning, we've come up with a list of a few light-hearted
recommendations around building good social applications. Not all of these "best practices" are necessary in every case, but they might spark thoughts about finding new users, keeping old ones, and leveraging the social graph for fresh content and viral spread.
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In cases where applications strive for stronger identity, it can be good to create a UI look and feel which is slightly
distinct but still aesthetically strong to play on a user's tastes and need for self expression.
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Good social applications aren't only static badges of self expression; they dynamically change to provide an interesting
experience across sessions. Change can be derived from the social graph as friends interact with the application to change its state. Change can also occur as the application internally generates new content. In both cases, the day-to-day changes can help to keep an application interesting and desired over time.
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Browsing the graph can also certainly extend beyond just friends. In some circumstances, it can be interesting to see and
interact friends-of-friends, especially when drawn together by shared interests. Creating ways for a user to grow his/her
social circle adds value to an application from the user's perspective by unearthing opportunities for new friends and content.
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