Google's Plans for a Social API

NewsCloud writes "After tonight's Breaking Open Facebook with Free Open Source Software, TechCrunch reports Google plans to announce an open API for social networking tomorrow. "OpenSocial is a set of three common APIs, defined by Google with input from partners, that allow developers to access core functions and information at social networks: 1) Profile Information (user data) 2) Friends Information (social graph) and 3) Activities (things that happen, News Feed type stuff)" Says Om Malik: "OpenSocial attacks Facebook where it is the weakest (and the strongest): its quintessential closed nature...Even if you take Facebook out of the equation, the task of writing and adapting widgets for the every increasing number of social platforms was going to be turn into a colossal mess.""

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NYT: Google and Friends to Gang Up on Facebook

[newscloud]

"It is going to forestall Facebook's ability to get everyone writing just for Facebook," said a person with knowledge of the plans who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the alliance. The group's platform, which is called OpenSocial, is "compatible across all the companies," that person said. "Facebook got the jump by announcing the Facebook platform and getting the traction they got. This is an open alternative to that," the person also said.

Full article

Social API, pthtptpptpththt!

[monkeyboythom]

When I told a charming, beautiful young woman she could plug into my public API, I got slapped!

Gee, thanks for nothing, social networking...

Re:Social API, pthtptpptpththt!

[stubear]

Should have kept that API a little more private. You never know viruses you'll contract sharing it with all those anonymous users on the P2P sites/apps.

Re:Social API, pthtptpptpththt!

[Anonymous Coward]

I told a charming, beautiful young woman she could plug into my public API...

Think about what you insinuated for a moment, then understand why you got slapped. Next time you should offer to plug into HER public API. That way at least you'll know what you're getting slapped for.

Amateurs.

Clone facebook

[Virgil Tibbs]

the thing which has always put me off social networking is that they are so uncompatibale with each other, and you can bet your bottom dollar that if you are on one system, someone else will be on the other.
I just wish someone would clone facebook (and/or myspace,bebo etc) and release it under the AGPL.

Re:Clone facebook

[caramelcarrot]

It's not the code, it's the actual hosting, servicing, maintenance. Anyone can clone the code of facebook fairly easily, some people have, but actually running it as a viable website is a totally different thing.

Re:Clone facebook

[langelgjm]

Even if you were to clone it, you would still have the issue of fractured userbases, as well as inertia - people will stick to whatever they are already on. To me, this seems to be very similar to the differences between messaging clients. Where I grew up, AIM was the only protocol anyone ever used; but people in different places use other protocols (from what I understand MSN is much more popular in Europe, etc.). Then along came clients with the ability to speak any of the protocols.

I think the solution to myriad social networking sites is not more social networking sites, but rather a standard communication and search protocol that they all can share, at least for basic information. This could allow Facebook users to connect to MySpace users, send messages, etc. Each site could retain its peculiar features, but basic communication could be established.

Re:Clone facebook

[cromar]

I think the solution ... is not more social networking sites, but rather a standard ... protocol that they all can share

It's always bothered me that these sites more or less do the same thing. A new/better one comes along and people move there even though it is pretty much the same as the old one. Then I have to enter my profile info again - something I really hate doing. Centralizing all the information bothers me too. A "service scraper" would be a good solution, but I've always been tantalized by the idea of using a p2p protocol for a truly open, ubiquitous "friend site" experience..

Marc Andreessen has a great write-up about it here

[linuxbaby]

Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape and Ning, has a great write-up about it, here.

This is kind-of a follow-up to his in-depth thoughts on the Facebook platform that I found really useful, too.

Open source.... why bother?

[EveryNickIsTaken]

I *get* what Google is trying to do here. However, since the majority of Facebook's users couldn't care less if the apps they're using are open, I'm not really sure what the point is...

Re:Open source.... why bother?

[samael]

It's not about Open in its Open Source meaning - it's about Open in its Open Standards meaning. OpenSocial is a standard that applications can be written to which will allow them to run on any web platform that supports it. So far that looks to be lots of smaller platforms (Ning, Orkut, etc), but together they add up to a fair chunk of the market.

The big question is whether Facebook can be pushed into supporting this API...

Re:Open source.... why bother?

[garcia]

However, since the majority of Facebook's users couldn't care less if the apps they're using are open, I'm not really sure what the point is...

In the end, the users are what makes Google money but they aren't the ones that Google is really trying to market to here. Popular social networking sites are a marketers dream. Google wants an open API so that it can crawl and offer up data to those that want to advertise to this wide open market. Facebook is pretty closed when it comes to what they offer by API and while Google will follow that it doesn't meant that the other social networking sites will solidify their borders in the same way.

Please do note the two top items of the list: profile information and "friend" (links) information. I know of marketers trolling Facebook groups and collecting as much data as they can on the users of the site in order to find a way, in the future, to market to them. If they could do this with an API instead of screen scraping, it would make their lives a lot easier.

Scary? Yes.

One Word...

[barefoothannibal]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkut

OpenSocial attacks Facebook

[Gothmolly]

Anyone else read that "OpenFacial attacks Socialbook"? Some sort of weird Japanese geek porn?

A step in the right direction

[samael]

Step one - applications that work in a social network. e.g. Facebook apps.
Step two - applications that work on lots of different social networks using certain common features. This is where OpenSocial is taking us.
Step three - applications that work across multiple social networks, so that they can include your contacts from Facebook, Livejournal, Slashdot and LinkedIn.
Step four - roll-your-own sites that allow you to provide your own basic social infoamtion (using FOAF, OpenID, etc.) so that you don't need to be a member of a social site to produce or consume social network information.

We're a way off yet - but it looks like we're moving in the right direction.

Re:A step in the right direction

[Non-Huffable Kitten]

Is it just me or does that posting scream for "6. PROFIT!!!"?

if Google copise MSFT and MSFT copies Google ...

[peter303]

who invents the new stuff then?
Startups.

so...

[hitmark]

can we be able to have friends on different community sites without requiring our own accounts on them?

as in, a kind of distributed login system between community sites?

so i create a profile on site A, and my friend on site B, and i can read and write stuff on his, and him on mine?

im so tired of having to write those profiles all the time as friends jump to the community of the month...

Re:Marc Andreessen has a great write-up about it h

[Andy Dodd]

From the second link:

"With the Facebook platform, app developers build to Facebook-proprietary languages and APIs such as FBML (Facebook Markup Language) and FQL (Facebook Query Language) -- those languages and APIs don't work anywhere other than Facebook -- and then the apps can only run within Facebook. In contrast, with Open Social, app developers can build to standard HTML and Javascript, and their apps can then run in any Open Social container."

One of the biggest reasons "MySpace haters" like myself prefer facebook is that Facebook enforces a relatively "clean" user interface for profiles.

While the Facebook platform has reduced that "cleanness" a bit (too much flexibility was given to app developers, and hence some apps look just plain FUGLY.), the thought of app developers being given full-blown HTML and JS as opposed to a restricted markup language that prevents them from going too far in terms of altering Facebook's UI scares me. If you don't believe me, look at the cesspool of ugliness known as MySpace - it's a perfect example of why there is such a thing as too much flexibility.

I could be stupid but ...

[eheldreth]

could some one explain what the compatibility issues is. I mean granted being and anti social basement dweller, I've never used a "Social Networking" site but aren't they just like a mix of a crappy blog and geocities. What is there to be compatible with.