Facebook seminar offered by firm
by: Mallory Vough, Wilkes-Barre Times Leader
Establishment business people – at least those above the age of 30 – might think Facebook is a publication filled with photographs of people showing off their finest toothy grins. But in fact Facebook is one of the most popular Web sites on the Internet, with a claimed 70 million active users who range from teenagers to corporate executives.
That adds up to a compelling audience, but one that can be difficult to reach. A seminar scheduled for later this month may help individuals and businesses cut through the confusion.
Scranton-based software development company Meezik will host the Facebook Developer Garage on April 26, NEPA at Pepperjam, in the Innovation Center @ Wilkes-Barre.
The four-hour session will introduce software developers and businesses to the new Facebook Developer Platform, said Daehee Park, marketing and sales manager at Meezik. “It’s for developers, marketers and entrepreneurs. We want to show them how to create applications for Facebook so they can develop and monetize those applications.”
The Facebook Developer Platform was launched late last year, and similar events are being held across the United States and the world so that individuals and companies can share ideas with local developers, look for partners on projects, get technical support or simply network and socialize with other developers interested in the Facebook platform.With a total of 21,024 applications on Facebook and the number increasing every day, Park said he feels companies can link people together through these applications in unique and fun ways.
“It’s another channel for marketing their product. The possibilities are limitless,” Park said.
A few applications include “Movies” by Flixster, which allows people to share reviews, discover new movies and test knowledge with the Never-Ending Movie Quiz; “iLike” by iLike, Inc., which lets users add music to their profiles and find their favorite concerts; Neighborhoods by Point2 Technologies, Inc., which shows Facebook users who live near them, what these people are up to and what is happening in their neighborhood; and PortfolioJoe by Interactive Design Associates LLC, which makes it possible to send out professional company or personal portfolios to potential clients or employers.
The intended audience for the seminar is local students, according to Park. “Our main target is students at local colleges who are majoring in information technology, marketing, business or computer science,” he said.
“We also want this to be a networking type thing. If you’re not particularly strong at programming, you can meet someone with strong skills in programming and hopefully work together.”
Presented by Facebook, Pepperjam, AppleCart, SpinDVD and Bawls, the event will feature local and national speakers including Kris Jones, CEO of Pepperjam; Ron Frisbie, co-founder of Ringside Networks; Jason Gaylord, president of .NET Valley; Caitlin O’Farrell, Platform Product Marketing for Facebook; Jay Signorello, software engineer, Heavy.com, and Jason Hoffman, CTO and founder, Joyent.
Possible discussion topics include anatomy of a Facebook application, FBML and FQL overviews and viral marketing optimization.
The event is free, but interested attendees must reserve at http://rsvp.meezik.com.
IF YOU GO
inside
What: Facebook Developer Garage NEPA
When: Saturday, April 26, 1-4 p.m.
Where: Pepperjam, 7 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre
Cost: Free
Reserve: at http://rsvp.meezik.com
Info: Daehee Park at (646) 867-0847 or at daehee@meezik.com