Does Facebook Know What Apps You Really Want?

Facebook admits that its large number of apps available in the App Center makes it difficult to know which ones to recommend to users. The App Center has been around since May in the US and international since August. It gets around 220 million visitors each month, according to Facebook. The goal of the app recommendation engine is to respond quickly with correct information and incorporate feedback into its recommendations.

 How it Works

The recommendations are based on the user’s demographics and past likes or interactions with other sites. They also take into account friends’ activities and real-time updates to give you recommendations you actually might use. The recommendations are personal and relevant as well as timely, and they allow more apps to be seen than what might otherwise be found by just a search.

Users opinions and ratings also weigh in on which apps are recommended for future users to guarantee a higher quality selection. It uses a combination of daily users and the overall total for the month to determine the most popular apps since spikes throughout the month can eschew totals.

Real-Time Information

The recommendation engine uses information in real-time to get the latest, most accurate updates. For instance, when someone new likes an app, that information is added into the scoring immediately. When a friend recommends an app, that data is also added so that you can get that same app recommended to you. The user’s history is also constantly updated to allow new recommendations that are relevant to what they are interested in at the moment.

Some people might wonder how accurate the recommendations can be with 220 million visitors and over 1 billion users. The developers admit it is still a work in progress as new updates are added to reach person with an individualized recommendation.

[Image via gizmocrazed]