I’m a big fan of not reinventing the wheel, especially when it comes to writing apps. But searching the Facebook Application Directory is akin to panning for gold in a diarrhea river. So many of the available apps are complete garbage, and you never really know until you waste time trying them out. Enter AppBistro.
AppBistro aims to be the premiere directory of Facebook apps, both commercial and free – and also of Facebook Application Developers that don’t suck. Ambitious, to be sure, but it lokos like they’re off to a pretty decent start.
You can browse their listings of apps based on the kind of app you’re looking for – or submit your own applications to start earning revenue on them.
I haven’t spent any time with their API yet – and I admit the idea of an API that interfaces with another (volatile, wonky) API makes me throw up a little in my mouth, but if you’re looking for a revenue stream for your apps and don’t want to play the ad game, it might be worth looking into. I’ll be checking it out further later on, and I’ll report back with my findings.
And likewise, if you’re looking for an app and are hesitant to spend a pile of money on a custom app, check and see if one doesn’t already exist that does what you need for free or low-cost. They have coupon apps, newsletter apps, polling apps, e-commerce and more – and each review page comes with a rating and a screenshot, so you can get an idea of what it will look like and whether it’s worth your time.
Check it out at AppBistro.Com.
