Procter and Gamble does a lot of great work with new media, and given its budget, it's no surprise that the execution is often impeccable. Its Crest Whitestrips groups page, however, is somewhat less than might be hoped for. With 8,696 members, it's only in the 50th percentile, but at least it's halfway there. Its "Smiler" application, on the other hand, might make its marketing manager frown. With only two active daily users, it is clear that the application is not as successful as the brand would have liked.

Users do check to see who made the application and how many others are using it. If the numbers start out low, they will likely stay low. When developing applications, make sure that there is a critical mass of users who can seed the application and make sure that it will be adopted.

In general, applications can be a challenging proposition; most users only have a few applications installed in their Facebook profiles, which they use on a regular basis, and it is difficult to develop something compelling for them.