Impact of new Facebook design on app usage

There is enough emotional sentiment out there against the new Facebook UI with thousands signing petitions against it. From the business side of it, with Facebook app developers like SGN, Zynga, Playfish and others receiving millions from VCs, there has been some concern that the new UI will lower adoption and use of the apps (and eventual/possible/hypothetical monetization).

The guys at All Facebook have gone out and crunched numbers to determine the impact. Their full analysis posted here. The most alarming metric: "The average monthly active users for the top 1500 applications has dropped 15.6 percent from its peak toward the end of September."


At FOWA London, Mark Zuckerber, addressed the platform, the new UI and the impact on the apps ecosystem. His general comment was that applications that relied on long term engagement and sharing have grown while the ones that relied on a box in the profile will have seen a drop. (Also interesting comments on monetization and mobile and location).