Last night, Mike Arrington broke news about a possible “preferred application” program on Facebook.

He claims that Facebook will begin selecting “preferred applications.”

But will there be rewards?

Maybe- it could range from special search placement to top directory spots.

The real issue at hand is larger, however. Facebook wants rich, sustainable applications. And it may try to promote them through “preferred status”. But the apps it wants won’t appear until real monetization is a possibility. That’s when app developers actually believe they are preferred.