At yesterday’s Facebook Developer Garage, Facebook outlined a number of the upcoming changes to the Facebook Platform which we are still in the process of digesting, however one major thing stood out to us: the Open Graph API. Why Facebook chose to share this tidbit is a little bit curious, as it appears to be a shot at smoothing over some of the broader changes at hand. Whatever the impact of Facebook’s changes on developers are, the Open Graph API is part of a broader movement by Facebook.
What Is The Open Graph API?
At the beginning of July we highlighted the concept of the Community Platform API, or a way to embed Facebook Pages anywhere on the web. Yesterday, we found out what Facebook was officially calling the product: the Open Graph API. According to Facebook, “The Open Graph API will allow any page on the Web to have all the features of a Facebook Page – users will be able to become a Fan of the page, it will show up on that user’s profile and in search results, and that page will be able to publish stories to the stream of its fans.”
While the service won’t be rolled out for at least another 6 months, it illustrates how Facebook is looking to become an identity aggregator for its users. As I previously wrote, the service would most likely be used as an abstract community platform. With the flexibility provided by the open web, developers will have more control over how users navigate through their community.
The Open Graph API is also a step toward making the web more social. As Charlene Li once said, we won’t have to think about social networks as destinations eventually as everything will simply be a social experience. Facebook hopes that all those social experiences point back to one location: Facebook. Right now the concept of the Open Graph API is a big one as well as a vague one as we still have no idea how it will be implemented.
Facebook As The Authentication Hub
By implementing this new service however, Facebook will become the primary authentication hub for social experiences around the web. This authentication process makes Facebook the center of user identities and yesterday’s announcement of opening up developer access to emails means Facebook has literally become a wrapper for OpenID.
While Google is aggressively going after the identity space, it appears that Facebook has the best shot at owning it as the company continues to add over 5 million members a week. We’re still watching the evolution of the social web take place and Facebook is making one solid step after the other. The company has most effectively abstracted each component of their site in contrast to companies like MySpace who haven’t been able to adapt as quickly.
We Await The Next Evolution
For now, developers will have to wait and see what the Open Graph API means for them but more importantly, they’ll need to focus on Facebook’s impending platform changes. We’ll be posting more about those changes in the coming days as we speak with developers. It’s clear that Facebook is focused on the long term vision of making the web more social and with the upcoming changes announced at yesterday’s developer garage, the company is moving in the right direction.
What do you think of Facebook’s Open Graph API announcement? How do you think this will impact developers? Do you think it will make the experience better for users?
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Thanks for the summary Nick. Very interesting stuff here. I just wish Facebook would provide some form of identity authentication score, so developers could "count" on the authenticity of a profile. At the moment, anyone (fraudsters, etc) can still get a page, and therefore "borrow" authenticity from FB's process.
Comment by Alan Edgett — October 29, 2009 @ 8:37 am
Nice summary, i'm just starting in with FB API but do enjoy using facebook and can't wait to write something for it. I agree with Alan also though and feel that the facebook api is still maturing and not as secure as it will be.
Comment by pThomas — October 29, 2009 @ 7:14 pm
“I just wish Facebook would provide some form of identity authentication score, so developers could “count” on the authenticity of a profile”
Alan, have a look at the ‘isVerified’ property available through the Facebook API, seems to be close to what you’re after.
http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Users.isVerified
Comment by Jeff B — November 2, 2009 @ 3:52 pm
We’re doing a good bit of R&D with the Facebook API in the Department of Defense realizing its great potential for making things easier for our users. We’re finding some issues with what is approved for security protocols in DOD is not exactly what is currently being used in the API implementation. Having an API that can support more enhanced security would be a huge plus for approval of these type of features by the government.
Comment by Facebook User — November 2, 2009 @ 11:02 pm
Thanks for the info. I am just wondering what facebook is going to do regarding the reliability of their platform. The platform is rarely stable…if they want people to integrate it into their websites, facebook is going to have to tackle some issues (performance, uptime, documentation, etc).
Comment by Jonathan Freger — December 19, 2009 @ 12:11 pm
Facebook creates and abandons APIs like some gerrymandering genius-run 1980s computer company. This is a great idea, but it also might be a death knell to the anonymous web.
Comment by rick — April 22, 2010 @ 9:18 am
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Whenever an open graph enabled page is shared or liked on Facebook it becomes part of the "social graph" on Facebook, meaning it get a Facebook.com/whatever link. From that point on you'll be able to find these "objects" or web pages anywhere you can find normal Facebook pages. Including searches.
As an admin of the page, you'll be able to send status updates to all the people who've liked that page and it'll look just like status updates from normal facebook pages.
I wrote a short tutorial on using the open graph tags to make custom video players play directly inside the stream when people share or like your page. You can use that same technique to control anything from images to tiles, descriptions and much more.
Anyway, check it out here: http://ahrengot.com/tutorials/custom-video-player...
Comment by Jens Ahrengot Boddum — April 5, 2011 @ 2:01 pm