Twelve more major publishers are to create apps for Facebook’s Timeline. When Facebook announced its Timeline re-structure, it also announced Timeline apps. Mark Zuckerberg went so far as to say that Timeline apps have the ability to transform the way people share everything from music, to news, to books, to recipes. “The next year is going to be defined by the apps and the depth of engagement that is possible now that everyone has their networks in place and connections established,” Zuckerberg said.
So far Timeline apps are working very well for their owners, driving enormous traffic and engagement for publishers like Digg, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Yahoo!, and Rockmelt. The Guardian app, for example, has been installed more than five million times since launching last September. Facebook apps work.
Now, Buzzfeed, CBS Local: Los Angeles and New York, CMT, The Daily Show, GetGlue, Huffington Post, Mashable, MSNBC.com, MTV News, Pixable, Sporting News, and the Today Show want a slice of the action.
The best performing Facebook app so far has been Pinterest – its traffic has increased by over 60% since it created a Facebook Timeline app.
“We look forward to seeing more media apps come to Timeline – giving media organisations new ways to connect with their readers and distribute their content to new audiences,” said Facebook’s director of media partnerships Justin Osofsky.