TC Interns' 10 Favorite Facebook Applications

As a few titans of tech blogging recently began to go back and forth over whether platform-enhanced Facebook is really worth the hassle, we lowly interns over here at TechCrunch decided to list our favorite Facebook applications to see whether third-party additions have really improved our social networking lives.

As early twenty-somethings who experienced Facebook when it was exclusively for college students and it differentiated itself from MySpace, with its simplicity and compelling lack of extraneous features, we figure we are better (at least in some respects) than these latecomers at judging the current viability of Facebook as a place where we will increasingly want to spend our time.

The following list of applications is meant, of course, to share with you some of the Facebook platform’s standouts. However, at the same time it reflects how much value the open platform has so far given to Facebook. Frankly, we struggled to find ten applications that we felt belonged on a Top 10 list and not because there were so many good applications from which to choose. On the contrary, the vast majority of Facebook’s 2,300+ applications strike us as frivolous and unworthy of the time and effort it takes to even install them. Our experience with this roundup suggests that Facebook as a development platform has a long way to go before fulfilling the grand visions some have had for it.

It is unclear whether the disappointing state of third-party applications on Facebook is the fault of the platform or its developers. The relative newness of the platform could simply be the reason for its lack of exciting applications. Regardless, developers may want to take note of these picks (and the most popular apps listed on Facebook) and see if they can’t best them. Hopefully, in a year or so we will be able to pick ten other Facebook applications that actually make a substantial difference in our lives.

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#1: iLike

iLike lets you add music to your profile and find your favorite concerts (not to mention see who else is going!). Bonus: Use it to get free mp3’s that match your tastes and try to beat your friends at the Music Challenge.”

#2: Graffiti

“Graffiti lets you draw on your friends’ profiles.”

#3: Where I’ve Been

“A detailed, interactive world map, show everyone where you’ve been, lived and where you want to go. It includes a zoom tool and all the US States and there is no need to create an account on any third party site. Have Fun!”

#4: Zoho Online Office

“Zoho Online Application”

#5: Fantasy Stock Exchange

“Be your own hedge fund manager with $50 million starting portfolios! FSX is about one thing – making investing fun! Investing will never be boring again, start trading now!”

#6: Flickr Photos by Dustin Mierau

“Flickr Photos brings the wonderful world of Flickr to Facebook. Share your Flickr photos with friends, browse their Flickr photo collections and more!”

#7: Honesty Box

“Honesty Box lets users send each other anonymous messages, removing any inhibitions and letting people be completely honest with you.”

#8: Box.net Files

“Upload music, documents, photos, and files to your Facebook profile. Free and easy to use! ”

#9: Superpoke!

“Why just poke when you can pinch, hug, tickle, pwn or even throw sheep?”

#10: The Friend Match

“Rate how well your friends would do as couples while letting them hook you up with their friends!”

Bonus: TechCrunch

Shameless, we know.
“This application places the latest TechCrunch headlines directly on your profile. TechCrunch profiles the companies, products and events that are defining and transforming the new web.”

Update: Robert Scoble’s list is here. Orli Yakuel’s is here.