PickupPal Blog

Facebook plan to announce a new extension to their API called Facebook Connect. With it users can use their Facebook data on other sites, your Facebook profile and friends are no longer restricted to facebook.com. This is great news for PickupPal, because it will allow Facebook users to use PickupPal with their existing, trusted network of friends. Making for a safer, more familiar experience for new users.

It appears from the Techcrunch article that Facebook are doing this in response to a similar MySpace feature: MySpace Data Availability, but in general this is a very smart move for any social network site; it is an extension of federated identity and trust models. Leveraging a users existing reputation within a known social network and extending that reputation into new networks.

Imagine signing-up as a new PickupPal user and sharing rides with people you already know!

- Jonathan

You may not realize this, but PickupPal also has a Facebook Application!

For those with a Facebook account you can install it from the PickupPal Facebook App About Page.

For those that have thus far avoided this social network giant, a Facebook Application is like a mini website that lives inside the Facebook website. PickupPal designed and coded these pages and we control the content and the way these pages behave. You can get more detailed technical information on the Facebook Platform here.

So, what does it do?

Currently there are two main pages within the application:

• Stats
• Invite Friends

The Stats page will display your mileage and your CO2 emissions reductions, so all your friends will be able to see how much you’ve contributed to the environment. We hope that this will encourage other Facebookers to follow your good example.

The Invite Friends page allows you to invite your friends and spread the PickupPal message; for every friend you invite that successfully signs-up to the PickupPal site we credit your account with $5.

How can I use my Facebook Application to make requests and create routes?

Right now, you can’t…

We’ve had to keep our application as simple as possible because the Facebook App Platform is prone to server delays, which can seriously impede the experience of using the application pages. To use the core features of PickupPal, you will need to jump on over to the main site.

You’re paying us to recruit for you?

Exactly! The PickupPal Facebook Application lets your friends discover how eco-conscious you are and credits your PickupPal account with $5 for every person you successfully recruit!

- Jonathan