While I may end up eating my words for weeks to come, whether or not platforms will be ready for launch tomorrow, one thing is for sure: OpenSocial has arrived to counter the Facebook platform. The new APIs being provided by Google will (as Mike Arrington pointed out) enable developers to access profile information, friends information and activities. These are all things currently provided on the Facebook platform. While user portability across networks is not supported by this, each application will have access to data that enables them to be unique to the user.
The “applications” being developed for OpenSocial sound much more like widgets that reside within containers rather than robust applications. Perhaps most web developers will soon be widget developers. The web is suddenly becoming more social and as the web evolves our daily interactions with sites will become more personal. We will be able to view much on the web through the lenses of our friends. In regards to whether or not silos of users will continue to exist, under OpenSocial they will. Individuals can choose to use Friendster, Hi5 or any of their other platform partners or opt to go with Facebook or Myspace who are as of yet, not integrating with Google’s new system.
While this is a step in the right direction, this is not the final solution to cross platform identity portability that many have been calling for. Regardless, Google and the other platforms are definitely concerned about Facebook’s momentum and this is their answer. One thing that hasn’t been answered by this is: will Google develop a SocialAds competitor that enables targeted ads across platforms similar to those expected to be provided by Facebook on their new ad platform? Additionally, given that platforms get to choose how they wish to implement Google’s open social, how will application directories compare to Facebook’s applications directory? Finally, are the Facebook developers going to go running for OpenSocial?
All of these are unanswered questions that will soon be revealed in the coming months!
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Most importantly – AllOpenSocial.com?
Comment by Neil — October 31, 2007 @ 6:13 am
So, for Developers, Does Open Social Matter?…As a Facebook Application Development Firm, Lonely CEO Media is able to address the real question behind Open Social (a multi-site initiative to create a unified platform)- will it siphon developers from Facebook Platform? Will it change the competitiv…
Comment by Lonely CEO Media - F — October 31, 2007 @ 7:44 am
I still have lots of questions about implementation that no one has even hinted at so far…
For instance, how will security issues be handled? Will developers be allowed to store user data? How will JavaScript and iframes be restricted? (I'm getting so annoyed at recent characterizations of FBML… there are good reasons for it, people.)
Right along with these questions are issues of user privacy. How much data will developers be able to access? How well will applications communicate data access and storage to end users?
Then there are simple issues of usability. How easy will all of this be for an end user? Will average users take the time to learn the system? How will user data be synchronized across hosts? Will it all even make sense to end users?
I'm not saying these questions can't be answered or that Google et al. hasn't addressed them (I certainly hope they've thought about them). I'm just saying that they're all issues I've heard nobody address so far, so until I actually see the implementation in action, I'm maintaining skepticism.
The fact that pre-release discussion keeps talking about full HTML/JavaScript vs. FBML alone makes me really wonder about the implementation in practice.
Comment by Joey Tyson — October 31, 2007 @ 9:43 am
Most importantly – AllOpenSocial.com?
Comment by Neil — October 31, 2007 @ 10:13 am
So, for Developers, Does Open Social Matter?…
As a Facebook Application Development Firm, Lonely CEO Media is able to address the real question behind Open Social (a multi-site initiative to create a unified platform)- will it siphon developers from Facebook Platform? Will it change the competitiv…
Trackback by Lonely CEO Media - Facebook Application Development and Consulting — October 31, 2007 @ 12:44 pm
I still have lots of questions about implementation that no one has even hinted at so far…
For instance, how will security issues be handled? Will developers be allowed to store user data? How will JavaScript and iframes be restricted? (I'm getting so annoyed at recent characterizations of FBML… there are good reasons for it, people.)
Right along with these questions are issues of user privacy. How much data will developers be able to access? How well will applications communicate data access and storage to end users?
Then there are simple issues of usability. How easy will all of this be for an end user? Will average users take the time to learn the system? How will user data be synchronized across hosts? Will it all even make sense to end users?
I'm not saying these questions can't be answered or that Google et al. hasn't addressed them (I certainly hope they've thought about them). I'm just saying that they're all issues I've heard nobody address so far, so until I actually see the implementation in action, I'm maintaining skepticism.
The fact that pre-release discussion keeps talking about full HTML/JavaScript vs. FBML alone makes me really wonder about the implementation in practice.
Comment by Joey Tyson — October 31, 2007 @ 12:43 pm
"will Google develop a SocialAds competitor"
Of course they will. That's the whole point of this API push.
Comment by Hashim Warren — November 1, 2007 @ 5:47 am
its all stupid i think, who cares about social, the internet is too much in our lives anyway
Comment by k — December 27, 2007 @ 3:09 pm
Very interesting. My small contribution to the heap of needles in the hay stack is minor. WhiteRockReporter.com [ I define as a 'news and electronic magazine with a local character but still 'international'. I am sure of only one thing. It's not a directory. How to structure my future business and how to monetize to get economy in what I am accomplishing in blogs , forums, audiotorials and future videotorials...is a tough bite to analyse and come to terms with.I think attitude will take care of OpenSocial and Facebook and MySpace will sooner or later become bricks in the collosal puzzle and construction of an ivory tower under construction on behalf of Google?Of all the millions on the internet. How many are actually 'making money and recovering their individual investment [time mostly]? Internet is like a beehive and I see only millions of 'workers' [bees] perhaps now becoming fodder for the 'queen bee' [Mrs. Google is getting fatter and fatter and is already a political factor and 'media player' not to be discarded but rather joined so as not to be 'left out in the rain' in this wave and onslaught of components in the Internet Maze.Cordially yours Johan Sandstrom, BComm. BC Canada
Comment by Johan Sandstrom — January 11, 2008 @ 10:10 am
Very interesting. My small contribution to the heap of needles in the hay stack is minor. WhiteRockReporter.com [ I define as a 'news and electronic magazine with a local character but still 'international'. I am sure of only one thing. It's not a directory. How to structure my future business and how to monetize to get economy in what I am accomplishing in blogs , forums, audiotorials and future videotorials...is a tough bite to analyse and come to terms with.
I think attitude will take care of OpenSocial and Facebook and MySpace will sooner or later become bricks in the collosal puzzle and construction of an ivory tower under construction on behalf of Google?
Of all the millions on the internet. How many are actually 'making money and recovering their individual investment [time mostly]? Internet is like a beehive and I see only millions of 'workers' [bees] perhaps now becoming fodder for the 'queen bee' [Mrs. Google is getting fatter and fatter and is already a political factor and 'media player' not to be discarded but rather joined so as not to be 'left out in the rain' in this wave and onslaught of components in the Internet Maze.
Cordially yours
Johan Sandstrom, BComm. BC Canada
Comment by Johan Sandstrom — January 11, 2008 @ 11:10 am
Please keep me posted. Thanks. Brilliant views and writing/
Johan
"You cannot change the winds but you can adjust your sails"
Comment by Johan Sandstrom — January 11, 2008 @ 11:13 am
Please keep me posted. Thanks. Brilliant views and writing/
Johan
“You cannot change the winds but you can adjust your sails”
Comment by Johan Sandstrom — January 11, 2008 @ 2:13 pm