Reports say Mark Zuckerberg is attempting to polish his image in the eyes of software developers. At the F8 conference on Wednesday, The Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) CEO plans to reveal tools that will aid application makers to reach to the social network’s audience, which will further prove to be healthier for revenue rising. According to some of the anonymous sources, a mobile-advertising distributor to challenge Twitter Inc.’s MoPubwill also be unveiled by Facebook.
On the other hand, it is believed that the CEO is using F8 tactfully to strengthen ties to developers whose tools are crucial to helping Facebook woo users who socialize over mobile phones. Since last week, the company’s stock has been trading at record highs. Also, Facebook also is seeking to make its site a forum for news outlets, including Huffington Post.
For information, F8 runs for two days at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. More than 2,000 app makers are set to attend, eager to hear what Facebook has in store for the developers who depend on the platform to build mobile apps, add users and make money.Relationships with mobile developers give Facebook additional real estate for the more than 1 million advertisers it serves and intelligence on which startups are growing fast.
About the conference, one session, “News Publishing on Facebook,” promises to show the social network’s offerings “to help you grow and engage your audience.” The company wouldn’t say whether this referred to the reports of talks with publishers about hosting news and content directly on its site.At F8 last year, Zuckerberg told outside developers that Facebook would give its users more control over the information they share with external programs accessed through its site. He said of this year’s conference:
“One thing we’re looking for is some consistency. In terms of permissions, it was an all-you-can-eat sort of thing, and now it’s more a la carte, where people can pick and choose which permissions to give and which permissions they can’t.”
Some developers say the benefits of building for Facebook’s platform outweigh the potential drawbacks.
