VentureBeat

These Facebook developer platform conferences keep coming. Why?
Facebook doesn’t want to waste any time, because a small company called Google is expected to unleash its own open social network platform next month, and MySpace may have its own coming soon, followed by Hi5 and others. But we’re told Facebook isn’t secretly funding these events or anything, it’s merely supporting some of them by sending key executives to speak.

The next conference is Oct. 26, in SF. It’s called SNAP, which stands for Social Network Application Platform. It will host hundreds of developers and entrepreneurs to talk about how to launch apps, how to make them viral and what other platforms to look out for. If MySpace’s platform really is out, this could be a lot of fun. This time, I’ll be moderating a panel on “Facebook and platform strategies.”

VentureBeat readers can get a 10 percent discount by signing up here. (Or there’s more info here; use the discount code “venturebeat.”)

At a conference I moderated Tuesday, I was bamboozled with pro-Facebook panelists. Facebook investor Luke Nosek claimed MySpace’s parent company is so unimaginative that MySpace will “slowly go away.” Another Facebook proselyte, investor Lee Lorenzen, claimed Facebook may be worth $100 billion. Only audience member and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis came to the rescue, shouting out that they were “drunk.” This time, I’ll be more prepared.

Other speakers include:

• Robert Scoble (Scobleizer.com)
• Jia Shen (RockYou)
• Mark Kantor (Graffiti)
• Keith Rabois (Slide)
• Rodney Rumford (FaceReviews)
• Lee Lorenzen (Altura Ventures)
• Dave McClure (500hats.com)
• Susan Wu (Charles River Ventures)
• Keith Schacht (GrowAGift)

Next Story: EA buys Pandemic Studios/BioWare for $860 million
Previous Story: Virtual worlds: IBM interoperability partnership, Google Earth tools, and more

Tags: co:Facebook, snap-summit, social-network-application-platform