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A number of the large ad networks have been reaching out to developers to let them know that they essentially have no idea what’s going on. Facebook has taken the latest actions without giving developers any form of early notification and many ad networks feel left in the dark. Those developers that have ad supported business models (the majority of Facebook developers) feel as though their businesses are in jeopardy. The rationale is that if they can’t trust what were previously reliable ad networks, who can they trust?
The developers all share a legitimate concern. One developer I spoke with postulated that if you can’t rely on the ad networks, is Facebook a good platform for running a business? I suggest that there are plenty of models available, however getting millions of users and throwing up display ads was never a legitimate long-term business model. One clear issue that remains is whether display ad networks on Facebook will continue to exist. Their livelihood is currently threatened which is clearly articulated through an email sent yesterday by Aaron Choi, manager of the publisher network at RockYou:
As you know, Facebook has gone through another round of aggressive compliance checks, and have flagged a number of ads that they deem offending. We’ve included some ads that Facebook is flagging as part of this email - most of which RY does not serve but are served by other networks.
We are as surprised as you about this latest round from Facebook, and have been consistently sending creative to them in an effort to get much clearer guidance. Much of the time, we don’t hear anything back or we get vague answers. In some cases, we have had ad creative flagged through our network when very similar creative is running on Facebook itself, served through Facebook’s ad system.
Regardless, we have (once again) done a full sweep of our ads and it looks good as of now. We have informed third party ad networks that serve through us about Facebook’s compliance guidelines. We will continue to be vigilant.
We encourage you to use our Ad reporting system. This allows you to inform us of ads you think may be inappropriate per Facebook guidelines. Will also allow you to see what ads we’re serving versus other ad networks you may be using. This is the only system of it’s kind, as far as we know, and you should be using it. A screenshot of the ad reporting feature is attached.
Any additional feedback or suggestions you have are appreciated. We look forward to managing through this with you.
There is hundreds of millions of dollars currently at stake and Facebook is the one pulling the strings. We’ve reached out to Facebook for comment and while they’ve acknowledged the situation, we’ve yet to receive any official statement from the company. Any entire developer ecosystem is currently threatened, given that Facebook has begun swiftly shutting down any application in violation without warning. One has to wonder what Facebook’s goal is behind these actions. Since the original applications were shut down, Facebook made the following post to the forums:
Hello,
On July 28th we announced new advertising policies and said “[w]e’d like to remind you that you are responsible for all content within your application, and will be held accountable for any policy violations in ads appearing in your application, regardless of whether you have served them or they come from a third-party ad network. Facebook will enforce against developers and applications that include policy-violating ads — such as by imposing a temporary restriction on functionality or permanently disabling the application — as we do for other instances of policy violation.”
Since then we have been taking action when necessary. In addition to prior enforcements, recently some applications were temporarily suspended for running a high percentage of violating ads. These poor ads — even from a small number of applications — can diminish user confidence in all advertising, adversely impacting the entire Platform ecosystem. However, these apps were not permanently disabled, and assuming there are no other policy violations, will be restored in several days at the end of the scheduled suspensions. We do want to note that in some cases apps may be permanently disabled for ad violations.
As we’ve mentioned, if you run ads from third-party networks, we encourage you to monitor those ads, and work with your providers to ensure compliance and high quality. Don’t run ads from networks you don’t trust or you catch violating the guidelines. You may wish to ask your network to explain how they protect you and users, whether they have a process for receiving ad complaints, whether they offer you transparency into the variety of ads they run in different locations, and whatever other assurances you as a publisher would like to demand in exchange for allowing access to space you are accountable for.
We’re excited about all the value you create for users and your dedication to building on Platform, and want to encourage monetization and your success. We’ll keep looking for ways to help. But remember that you are clients of the ad networks; they should be serving your needs. For the percentage of developers that are outsourcing your monetization and user experience to them, are they doing what you require for them to earn your trust and access to your users?
Paul C. Jeffries
Platform Policy Team
Many developers are still left frustrated since the update though. While Facebook has had enough of the IQ Quiz ads, there are few alternatives for developers. Both sides have legitimate positions, however Facebook is clearly in control here and whether or not you believe in the “get millions of users and post display ads” business model, that’s what the majority of developers are doing. The issue is far from resolved. For now the debate will rage on between Facebook and developers until a clear line is drawn by the company.
The largest developers have been calling for clearly defined terms to avoid any ambiguity. Right now, developers think Facebook has crossed a line, and there’s no going back. While I may not believe in some of the business models behind these companies, the large ad networks are really all that many of these developers had to generate revenue. We’ll have to wait and see how this situation evolves over the next 48 hours.
The new ad network rules have been in place for a couple of months now and the enforcement has been spotty at best. While I disgree with shutting down applications without notice, the reality is that many ad networks continue to push the limits trying to make a quick buck and with complete disregard to the livelihood of the developers that show their ads.
At Cubics we have been not only following the guidelines, but leading the way for nearly a year. If you arn’t using us or haven’t tried us lately, I recommend you do. It’s not only likely to make you more money, it will probably save you some lost sleep as well.
“however getting millions of users and throwing up display ads was never a legitimate long-term business model”
Really? Says who?
You are mixing up two very different issues. Economic sustainability and Big Brother Abuse.
This should be all about the latter. It is IRRELEVANT how many pennies the display ads fetch for this discussion. It is WAY MORE important to discuss the philosophical problem with facebook doing these random bans.
I love facebook. Yet I wouldn’t build a business on it NOT because I cannot monetize it via ads but because NO MATTER how I monetize, they can shutdown my app and my company in a click without breaking any laws.
May be you should blog about the unsustainable nature of facebook apps in general…regardless of whether they monetize via subscription or advertising.
Before Facebook’s recent actions, it was assumed that the burden for reviewing every single creative was on the ad network. They are, in fact, the ones that are in the best position to review all the ads and creatives that are being run. For example, how would a developer know that a specific ad network is running a questionable creative within a very specific geographic region?
Well, Facebook is now imposing this burden on application developers but it is unclear as to how developers will cope. Will larger developers be forced to hire someone to check all ads that an app is running across all geographic regions (a seemingly 24/7/365 job)? And will smaller developers who are unable to endlessly police their apps go out of business? Although it seems that Facebook is currently targeting only the larger players, it’s presumably a matter of time until they begin implementing these policies across the entire platform.
The final, and perhaps the most important, consequence is a psychological one. If Facebook allows itself the ability to suspend apps without notice, without warning, and for arbitrary reasons, we must all ask ourselves whether it makes sense to continue investing in the platform.
I created a little applet which I was hoping to use to generate qualified leads which went missing this weekend. Since it hadn’t really gotten much attention yet, I didn’t feel the pinch but I can imagine a different scenario. Stability is important to trust for both developers and users. Clear policies and screening of apps BEFORE they’re deployed would be a good first step to preventing future disruptions.
Nick, I wonder, why you’ve chosen the “get millions of users and toss up display ads business model” for your blog if it’s such an indefensible model?
Facebook has become such a powerful media that so many people wants to be on it. So many ads want to be on it. It is best to be more educated about social media to be on top of the game.
“getting millions of users and throwing up display ads was never a legitimate long-term business model”
That’s a hell of sweeping statement and argues that the majority of web businesses are not legitimate long-term businesses.
Tell that to FHM.com, or Huffington Post, or the thousands of affiliate-led businesses.
I agree that there are other sources, but to argue that an advertising-led business is somehow “not legitimate”… well, I’d like to see your evidence.
Funny thing - i have an app that got shut down, and it wasn’t because of the IQ ads - they seem not to have a problem with them on my app..
Google Adsense is an option!
I think facebook is totally justified here. If an app is running ads for offensive material they should be shut down. The majority of ad networks run extremely trashy ads and they’re not just bad for facebook, they’re bad for internet advertising in general.
The problem for developers is that monitoring ads is near impossible. We don’t have time to pay attention to what’s running on every network we test out and if the rule is that one violation = app shut down then there is no point to build apps on Facebook anymore that don’t monetize with Virtual Currency.
Additionally, it can’t be easy for ad networks to create compliant ads when FB has double standards on what compliant means! Want proof? Look at what Social Media posted on a quick browse of Facebook’s own ad network: http://apps.facebook.com/appsaholic/
Dear Paul Jefferies, if Facebook launches an ad network of their own how can we trust it given that another division in Facebook has made it clear they’ll shut us off for ads they run themsleves! Good work Facebook – you’ve ruined the platform.
Using iFrames you can incorporate Google Adsense
Thanks Facebook! You rock!!! I am learning sooooo much about what not to do while in the middle of Deving my own Social Network! Keep up the trailblazing work guys!
I have met with Paul Jeffries several times about hurting the user ecosystem. He has espoused his laissez-faire economic view– that Facebook should not impede the economic well-being of Facebook developers, except when things have gone so far. Ad networks have taken this leniency as a free pass to spam, as the ecosystem rewards those who do.
This is not a new issue– it’s one we’ve dealt with for the last 2 years. Trying to define exact boundaries on what is “misleading” is not easy. However, a simple use of common sense will get you close. IQ, mobile, weight loss, and anything claiming to be free is a good start at misleading. Consider if it’s an ad that you would be proud to show your parents or other folks. That’s a good litmus test.
Unfortunately, the clean ads just don’t make as much money, just like steroids in baseball provide an unfair advantage. Facebook created this mess by allowing folks to go this far– now they have to be consistent in enforcement and not penalize the good folks.
Hello Nick, sorry for putting it here.
I have problem with my fan page.
My facebook fan page address is http://www.facebook.com/scha.alyahya and it has reached 50,000 + total fans few days ago.
But since yesterday, when i tried to access, it shows “Page Not Found”
“The page you requested was not found.
You may have clicked an expired link or mistyped the address. Some web addresses are case sensitive.”
Does it relate to page username ? Because the page did show up in search results, so its still available. The content still there. I just cant access the page.
Anyone knows how to resolve this matter, please? Lots of people has been complaining to me as i am the admin of the fan page.
Ive been scratching my head coz its such a waste if the fan page is missing just like that. It reached more than 50,000 fans!
Thank you.
There is such much junk on the web, we are inundated with spam and adverts. Its about time someone took a stand.
Thank you facebook. You are moving in the right direction. Yes the developers are the ones who are required to keep there apps clear of trash. Not much argument though i use adblock and noscript. I never see them anyways.
How did I surf my way here?