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As someone who’s not too fond of Facebook applications, I must say that this development reminds me of Monty Python’s “Upper Class Twit of the Year” sketch.  But it’s likely that, by paying people to develop apps, the newly founded fbFund is trying to undo such associations.

fbFund Gives Financial Awards To Facebook Apps

After all, competitors in the hunt for fbFund’s money are being asked to improve their creations.  In a final event that’s much funnier than it sounds, competitors in the Monty Python bit are simply asked to end their own lives.  So, however much the two groups may resemble each other in the beginning, they should be headed in different directions.

According to the Mercury News, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg stated, “We are just looking for innovative and disruptive things.  We don’t think we can build all these applications ourselves.”

That’s a reasonable attitude to take.  Zuckerberg also took a reasonable approach to forming the fbFund; grants provided by it will range in value from $25,000 to $250,000, and will come out of a $10 million pot created by Facebook, Accel Partners, and The Founders Fund.  Accel and The Founders Fund both contributed to Facebook’s success, so the fund is essentially an internal affair.

And from an outside perspective, the whole arrangement tends to create a no-lose situation.  Either we get a bunch of impressive Facebook applications, or we get a lot of apps to laugh at.