Facebook bet that opening its Application Platform would spur growthand build buzz, giving it an edge in the white-hot social networkpopularity contest. Four months and nearly 5000 applications later, it looks like that bet is paying off. Is Facebook the next platformfor profits, too?Find out what it takes to launch a successful Facebook application, understand the new rules of the application development game in a Web2.0 world, and get the scoop on the most popular Facebook apps inthis new report from Tim O’Reilly and the O’Reilly Radar team.The report:Sizes up the Facebook opportunity–who’s making money, and how?Lays out best practices of marketing with Facebook Applications, aka Social Media Optimization (SMO)Identifies the top 200 Facebook applications and plots their growthrates Goes beyond Facebook, and scopes out the emerging widget economy The social network economy is sizzling, and "The Facebook Application Platform" is a must-read for anyone who wants in on the Facebookopportunity.