Thanks! This has a lot of interest to me as well since I'm also not prepared to structure my life around a YC session.
I have some interest in a venture to build an app that would be specifically used for promoting products. Half product, half consultancy. Are there any fbFund recipients doing anything similar or unusual like that, or are they all building straight-ahead apps?
there are definitely some which are 'infrastructure' rather than "apps":
HotBerry:
Frameworks and mechanics allowing users to generate own casual games on Facebook (e.g., Pinball construction set).
Watch Screencast
J2Play:
A social gaming platform for pc, mobile, and web game developers.
However, the details announced about the next iteration of the fund may preclude these sorts of entrants. The issue is that while the finalists will chosen by the fbFund committee, the winners will be chosen by Facebook's users. I think it would be hard to "sell" a non-app to them, unless you had compelling instances what the app could do.
I have some interest in a venture to build an app that would be specifically used for promoting products. Half product, half consultancy. Are there any fbFund recipients doing anything similar or unusual like that, or are they all building straight-ahead apps?