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Google's OpenSocial Platform Releases

shadowmage13 writes "Google just announced that starting tonight, developers can start writing applications using the social API for Orkut, MySpace, Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, LinkedIn, Ning, Oracle, Plaxo, Salesforce.com, Six Apart, Tianji, Viadeo, and XING at http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial. Will Facebook give in?" There is quite a bit of analysis of this announcement available in yesterday's discussion.

137 comments

  1. Now Google??? by rukidding · · Score: 3, Funny

    So now even Google is jumping into this whole web 2.0 thing?

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    1. Re:Now Google??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      In Soviet Russia, Web 2.0 jumps you!

    2. Re:Now Google??? by bluemonq · · Score: 0

      /me wonders why you're surprised when Google created GMail and all...

    3. Re:Now Google??? by rukidding · · Score: 1

      it was a joke ;)

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      ...
    4. Re:Now Google??? by MLCT · · Score: 1, Informative

      Didn't Google help define the idea of 2.0? Gmail (which was much more than any other webmail when it launched), Ajax, Google Documents, ....

    5. Re:Now Google??? by 4D6963 · · Score: 1, Interesting

      So now even Google is jumping into this whole web 2.0 thing?

      Not now at all. Orkut is Google, and it's social networking, and social networking is by definition "Web 2.0". So no, not just now.

      Besides, the only thing wrong about Web 2.0 is the term 'Web 2.0'.

      --
      You just got troll'd!
    6. Re:Now Google??? by Pazy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why be suprised at google, they will be opening there own coffee shop franchise soon. Maybe fund a few space flights. They could do anything and I wouldent even blink anymore lol

    7. Re:Now Google??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess they could have spent a bunch of time, energy, and money into battling the "Web 2.0" nonsense, or, they could have realized its not worth twisting their panties over a buzzword and would much rather ride that cash train all the way to Web 3.0. Crazy eh?

    8. Re:Now Google??? by Seumas · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I've already given up. The internet is just turning into one giant party phone. Like the chat lines they used to advertise in the middle of the night in the late 1980s. If you can cash in on that sad state of affairs, I guess you might as well. Can't blame any company that does. Perhaps some day that will fade away and the internet will become something slightly less sophomoric and navel-gazing. Yes, part of the internet still serves a purpose other than trying to score with teenage girls and watching the video at 2girls1cup.com, but not much.

    9. Re:Now Google??? by rukidding · · Score: 1

      Sorry, it was a joke. ...a bad one :)

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    10. Re:Now Google??? by rukidding · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Sorry. I meant it as a joke. doesn't seem anyone got it. ...I'll stick to informative comments :)

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    11. Re:Now Google??? by owlnation · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes, and sadly the one thing they seem not to be doing, is the one thing they should be doing -- developing the next gen of search. We are still a long long way away from adequate search.

    12. Re:Now Google??? by Pazy · · Score: 1

      Well I read an article (most likely on slashdots, its got everything) about how the third generation of search is already underway at least in the preliminery stages. Even if google's search goes under they got that much stuff to fall back on you know they will never die.

    13. Re:Now Google??? by cakkafracle · · Score: 1

      it was a good one, everyone here is too "smrt" for jokes tho.

    14. Re:Now Google??? by 4D6963 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yes, part of the internet still serves a purpose other than trying to score with teenage girls and watching the video at 2girls1cup.com, but not much.

      Thanks for the link! ;-)

      --
      You just got troll'd!
    15. Re:Now Google??? by insertwackynamehere · · Score: 1, Funny

      r u kidding? :P (mods check parents username)

    16. Re:Now Google??? by insertwackynamehere · · Score: 1

      you spelled "smrat" wrong btw

    17. Re:Now Google??? by rukidding · · Score: 0

      In defense of my "flamebait" modded comment

      Google is the keystone of the web 2.0 movement. The only web2.0 that Google fell behind in was social networking. I think most people were just waiting for Google to step in and dominate social networking too.

      My comment should have been (5, funny) because Google is web2.0. It's just ironic that only now Google is truly stepping into what many think is the only aspect of web2.0.

      Hah!

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      ...
    18. Re:Now Google??? by sarixe · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      mods also check usernumber... if he was newer than me, i'd say screw him (her?)!

      --
      Maybe if I put a witty nerd joke in my sig, someone'll appreciate my comment a little more, but i'm too lazy to get one
    19. Re:Now Google??? by Achromatic1978 · · Score: 1
      Uhh, what has GMail to do with Web 2.0 beyond AJAX? Is Outlook Web Access (where XmlHttpRequest came from, after all) Web 2.0, too?

      Or do we only allow "cool" companies that moniker?

    20. Re:Now Google??? by empaler · · Score: 1

      I saw this really horrid Google Talk on GVid; a lecture about "Spiritual Computin". At some point, the speaker (Craig Warren Smith) asks the audience to define Web 2.0 for him, and some of the participants laugh and explain that "it's a marketing term that means whatever the marketer wants it to mean". Funny thing to hear from a Googler...

    21. Re:Now Google??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually the one thing they should be working on is the next gen of serving ads, considering that's how they make their money. Search is just a useful by-product.

    22. Re:Now Google??? by MadnessASAP · · Score: 1

      What the hell does it matter what his UID is? If you're the sort of person who will decide whether or not some one is deserving over your respect and attention then you certainly don't have my respect and attention.

      --
      I may agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to face the consequences of saying it.
    23. Re:Now Google??? by Photar · · Score: 4, Funny

      Spoken like someone with a high UID.

      --
      He who knows not and knows he knows not is a wise man. He who knows not and knows not he knows not is a fool.
    24. Re:Now Google??? by hdparm · · Score: 1

      You new around here?

    25. Re:Now Google??? by Fred_A · · Score: 1

      Is Outlook Web Access (where XmlHttpRequest came from, after all) Web 2.0, too? It could be... Is it in Beta ?
      Has to be Beta to be Web 2.0.

      OTOH since it's from Microsoft one could argue that it's by definition perpetually in Beta ("Hey, it compiles ! Ship it !" - MS dev team Mgr)
      --

      May contain traces of nut.
      Made from the freshest electrons.
    26. Re:Now Google??? by Fred_A · · Score: 1

      Spiritual computing ? Is that when you run your browser on a Ouija board ?
      (knock twice for 404)

      --

      May contain traces of nut.
      Made from the freshest electrons.
    27. Re:Now Google??? by empaler · · Score: 1

      That's what you get when you search on GVid for "site:video.google.com dalai lama lecture" with a length of 20+ minutes. Well, that and a jewish guy.

    28. Re:Now Google??? by BotnetZombie · · Score: 1

      He who has the lowest UID wins. But there's also a certain kind of glory in being the one here with the highest UID :p

    29. Re:Now Google??? by chooks · · Score: 1

      Argh!!! Ze goggles! Zey do nussing!!!!

      --
      -- The Genesis project? What's that?
    30. Re:Now Google??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck off.

    31. Re:Now Google??? by johannuhrmann · · Score: 1

      "Adequate search" as You name it would require semantic understanding
      of the content.

      By now, all aproaches of "semantic web" depend on a fair classification
      of content by the owner of the content.

      Currently, Google is continuously fighting against page rank
      manipulations. Inventing something that depends on fairness would
      render the search engine useless.

    32. Re:Now Google??? by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1

      me too

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    33. Re:Now Google??? by mini+me · · Score: 1

      We, the searchers, are Google's product. Therefore it is important that they improve our experience in order to make us more appealing to their customers.

    34. Re:Now Google??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seven digits, man. Seven.

    35. Re:Now Google??? by cshark · · Score: 1

      So now even Google is jumping into this whole web 2.0 thing?

      Dude, google started this whole web 2.0 "thing" as you put it.

      --

      This signature has Super Cow Powers

    36. Re:Now Google??? by sarixe · · Score: 0

      I'm not saying that the UID matters... but just look at the mod my comment got... had i been of a low UID, i'd have been modded up for being funny. or was it just that i suck at humor? whatever it is, UID has got to play some part in it, right or not.

      --
      Maybe if I put a witty nerd joke in my sig, someone'll appreciate my comment a little more, but i'm too lazy to get one
  2. How many of those have you heard of? by m50d · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Really? I count two, three if you include google. And "different from myspace" has been one of facebook's main attractions. This won't put any pressure on facebook.

    --
    I am trolling
    1. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by Pazy · · Score: 1

      Im in the same boat, I recognise the main ones but no more. I gave up on social networking a long time ago and stopped keeping track of it.

    2. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by Albanach · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'm not sure which two you mean? Myspace - 100 million accounts Livejournal - 14 million accounts Orkut - 67 million accounts Firendster - 50 million accounts LinkedIn - 15 million accounts Salesforce.com - 1 million subscribers Tianji - 700,000 members For context, Wikipedia reports that Facebook has 42 million accounts as of October 2007. Now there's certainly some variation, and probably lots of duplication amongst accounts, but seriously, these are big sites, with huge traffic figures. TO dismiss it as one or two and the rest you've never heard seems a tad petulant.

    3. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Really? I count two, three if you include google.


      So, yeah, there's only a handful already committed to OpenSocial before the SPI docs are released, and most aren't household names. But they've got 200 million user accounts between them, the largest of them alone has around 100 million. Facebook has how many? 40 million or so?

      And once the SPI docs are released, since "it is possible to use data from another social network", it will be possible for sites with lots of users that aren't primarily social networking sites to add social networking features and federate into massive social networks.
    4. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by iluvcapra · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think I have a friendster account, I made it in 2005 when all the pretty young things in Hollywood were using it for their "social" (sing. n.). I haven't used it since the week I made it, I doubt I could even log into it now (everybody went to myspace after about a month, and then to facebook, and nobody ever checks their page anyways). I suspect the number of accounts many social networking sites report come with the same caveat. I think the real question is "How many logins have at least one access per week? Per day?" The real gem is owning a website that people use every day and keep current with real information.

      The salesforce.com numbers are the most interesting, since the contacts that particular corpus tracks are recorded by paying subscribers, and are used in commercial transactions, and not by vapid teeners to promote their band or unite with other Gossip Girls fans.

      Of course, this information is really useful if you're selling cheap amps or advertising time for the CW, but considering the quality of the source, you might as well be using wikipedia to find the exchange rate of the dollar.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    5. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      *I* have some ideas that might put pressure on Phonebook... Umm, Facebook:

      See my:

      http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=345637&cid=21185939

      But, the gist is:

      "What the thing might have or should have -- and this will hurt feelings -- is a measurement to show relationship (whatever kind it is) based on communication instances, volume, and more. Obviously, this means reading email between senders. I would not say go as far as posting the content.

      Some, but not all, communicate regularly. Some fewer communicate with a subset via various methods (poking, wall-messages, private messages, etc. maybe even extra-system tracking based on e-mail sensed in routers around the world... hey, the info IS there...), and these instances can be weighted, counted and presented. It would look like nodes with pipes, sort of like HP Openview did years ago, or like any ubiquitous graphical firewall/system monitor tool. Think: Etherape. It could be dynamic, static, or a mixed snapshot.

      The upshot of this is that those freaks out there building falsely "deep" infatuous relationships will have their funky little bubbles burst when the the REST of the world can start to see past the misleading "Top # Friends" listing, which is pointless whether that list is static (like most) or "rotates faces" like F/B does.

      Markers such as Platonic Friend, Current item, Ex-, Professional, Hobby Group and more could be shaped and colored nodes, with strength modified by fatter tubes. Stagnant relationships could be shown in "broken" or light lines; stronger ones with wavy or fat lines. Active and stronger ones still can be shown with pulsating lines.

      Suddenly, it's no longer gospel who your TOP x-number of friends are. The volume, density/depth, duration, constancy, and such of your communications will determine publicly or privately who your REAL best friends are."

      The sooner developers (I am NOT one, but I think visually) push these into Google, the sooner Google has SOMEthing the others don't. If these widgets/features have have enough QA and standards demanded upon them, then many F/B users might sachet/sashay/mosey on over to Google's Party Line, even tho they may still keep their other lines open. To borrow the acronym SLOC (Sea Lines of Communcation:

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

      I coin the phrase Social Lines of Communication, or SLOC.)

      However, coining it is kind of useless, as SLOC already exists.

      I thought of SoLiOCo, but it is sort of taken, and there is a kind of other term in use from some site (translated in Google):

      "And it is but they think it is an experiment socialo ... solioco... Solioco ... UN EXPERIMENTO de joder personas, asi que van diciendo por ahi: o, mirenme, soy un tio que sale en un experimento! AN EXPERIMENT to fuck people, so we are going there by saying: or, mirenme, I am a guy who comes in an experiment! Amigos, si os cruzais con un idiota de esos no dejeis de llamarle rata de laboratorio hasta que se calle."

      So, that would not be a good name for a social API program developent or site for COMMERCIAL purposes. I suppose, someone might use it as an internal project name, just for fun.

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    6. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by Tim+C · · Score: 1

      LinkedIn is pretty big in the UK IT business; more or less every single person I know who's in the industry has an account.

      I have heard of Salesforce.com but I would be astonished if anyone outside of a major corporation has

      I work for a company of a few dozen people, and I've heard of salesforce. Are you normally this easily astonished? ;)

    7. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by LoverOfJoy · · Score: 1

      I didn't see LiveJournal in the summary or the article. Did I miss it, somehow? I did a search on the page after reading this post and still couldn't find it.

    8. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by trawg · · Score: 2, Insightful

      How ridiculous and arrogant. How can you accuse the parent of such things when most probably he's not in the target market group for these sites? There's nothing ridiculous or arrogant about it - it's then even more petulant of him to just dismiss them as the GP did if he's not in the target market, because then it's much more likely that he has absolutely no knowledge of the subject matter that he's opining on.

      It'd be like me not knowing anything about web servers and then hearing that Google use Apache as their web server software and SmallCompanyX does too, and then assuming that noone else uses Apache at all.
    9. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · · Score: 1

      Plus, I would venture to guess the myspace membership is inflated with all of the spam accounts.

      --
      Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
    10. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by tyrione · · Score: 1

      Give me a break. The 100 Million MySpace counts can be carved down to 10 to 15 million REAL ACCOUNTS. That site is a horde of spam sites and useless trash covered in fake accounts left and right trying to pawn off some useless crap that makes the QVC channel seem cool.

    11. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by SEE · · Score: 2, Informative

      Six Apart is the parent company of LiveJournal, just like Google is the parent company of Orkut and News Corp. is the parent company of MySpace. Now, whether Six Apart's participation means LiveJournal participation . . .

    12. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by DavidShor · · Score: 1
      I know you are joking, but I did a data analysis last year of the Myspace network. Most "spam" accounts have over 200 freinds, and my data showed that only 5% of accounts fit that description(and most of those accounts belong to hyperactive teenage girls).

      Myspace spam is not prevalent enough to skew statistics.

    13. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by DavidShor · · Score: 1
      Sounds interesting, but where would you get your usage data from? In my experience, the poking and wall writing is just a form of courtship and flirting, translated as quickly as possible to something else.

      I know that I don't communicate with my closest friends through facebook, I either use IM or email. Assuming that Google could wrestle that data from AOL(since no one uses google talk), and integrates it with facebook, then the feature would be worth something.

    14. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyone who drives on 101 has seen salesforce.com...

    15. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by SnowZero · · Score: 3, Funny

      Anyone who drives on 101 has seen salesforce.com... How ridiculous and arrogant. Some of us only have to drive on 85 to get to work. How dare you!
    16. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1

      Suddenly, it's no longer gospel who your TOP x-number of friends are. The volume, density/depth, duration, constancy, and such of your communications will determine publicly or privately who your REAL best friends are.

      Sorry, but this is a very silly idea. Friendship is related to the depth of communication, not the amount of data exchanged. And e-messaging is only a small part of communication.

      If I don't e-message somebody much, it might be because I actually spend time with them because they are a good friend. I don't need Google to tell me who my best friends are - and to get it wrong.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    17. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by foobsr · · Score: 1

      You might want to have a look at touchgraph.

      The upshot of this is that those freaks out there building falsely "deep" infatuous relationships ...

      Save on your energy budget.

      CC.

      --
      TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
    18. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      THANKS!

      WOW! That is a fine-looking tool/application. I never noticed it on FB, probably since FB has so many tools/apps available that I must have stopped clicking "Next". There is one app (Friend Wheel) I did see and use, but it was not as nice-looking as TouchGraph's.

      It makes me think of Visual Analytics. I wonder if either of them has filed for and actually received a patent on the visual stuff. I think I might have seen something similar in Simply Accounting or Simply Money, maybe back around 1992 or 91, but can't remember. Maybe not at all. Just "feels" familiar.

      Not that I want to run them out of a patent (if they TRULY deserve it), but I think most decent programmers might be able to effect the same results with existing code and some head-banging on the wall.

      Still, this tool is awesome,

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    19. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      Yeh, but here ARE friends we make before or after meeting on line. Some move, some are just too busy with school, work, family... and find time to communicate thru the Internet(s)... True, my idea (which I now know is NOT original or groundbreaking) will fail in cases where people still use snail mail, or have intensely strong feelings for each other even if they only communicate twice a year. But, as for the communications of listed/disclosed friends, the tool might be useful

      Friend Wheel is one I tried on Facebook. Friend circle seems even better. But TouchGraph looks *very* nice. They're like Visual Analytics but for social groups.

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    20. Re:How many of those have you heard of? by foobsr · · Score: 1

      Not that I want to run them out of a patent (if they TRULY deserve it), but I think most decent programmers might be able to effect the same results with existing code and some head-banging on the wall.

      Yes, I think so too. Get started :)

      CC.

      --
      TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
  3. Premier launch applications by The+Clockwork+Troll · · Score: 4, Funny

    Premier applications launching on the platform include "GlobalPoke", "iReallyReallyReallyLike", and the sure-to-entertain "Biggest Fucking Super Duper Wall Ever"

    --

    There are no karma whores, only moderation johns
  4. Again, no! by DragonWriter · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What is it with Slashdot headlines and the idea that "release" is an intransitive verb such that "X releases" means approximately the same thing as "X became available"?

    "Release" is a transitive verb. The subject is the thing letting something out, the object is the thing let out. "Google's OpenSocial Platform Releases", no, sorry, if you say that, you need to say what it is that Google's OpenSocial platform releases. "Google Releases OpenSocial Platform", yes.

    1. Re:Again, no! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      They're using it as a noun (in the plural), not a verb.

    2. Re:Again, no! by davidsyes · · Score: 3, Funny

      It is NOT unpossible, becuase it is not irreleaseble...

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    3. Re:Again, no! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One of the most poorly written grammar critiques ever.

    4. Re:Again, no! by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

      I agree but it's also a noun, last time I checked.

      So maybe the headline refers, skeptically, to multiple releases in the pipeline to tackle the behemoth that is Facebook! :)

    5. Re:Again, no! by element-o.p. · · Score: 1

      Yes, but English -- unlike, say Latin -- is a *living* language. It is dynamic and fluid; old words become replaced with new, new words are invented as needed, and even the usage of words changes over time. Ten years ago, "Google" was a proper noun (and a rather obscure one, at that). Now, it is both a proper noun ("Google" the corporation, "google.com" the web page) and a verb (to "google" something or someone; i.e., to search on-line for information, often by using "Google" the web page).

      To insist that there always was, currently is and forever will be only one way to use a particular word is, at best, short-sighted.

      --
      MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
    6. Re:Again, no! by Cyko_01 · · Score: 1

      "Releases" could also be a typo of "Released" making it "Google's OpenSocial Platform Released" - past tense

    7. Re:Again, no! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Technically, it could be a plural noun, although I don't think that's what they're trying to do here ;)

    8. Re:Again, no! by shadowmage13 · · Score: 2, Informative

      You're right :) It was actually just a typo-- i actually meant to say "Google's OpenSocial Platform Released"

    9. Re:Again, no! by SEE · · Score: 1

      No, it's not short-sighted. I assure you, some day my army of enforcement robots will impose my vision of the English language upon you all!

    10. Re:Again, no! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I only read the comments on this article because I predicted one just like the one I'm replying to... good job!

    11. Re:Again, no! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google's OpenSocial Platform Releases
      alright.....it doesn't take a lot of thinking to see this....listen would ya......Google's here it is.....the NOUN are you ready for it........
      ......RELEASES! wow.....now that really is a noun in a plural sense!

    12. Re:Again, no! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google's OpenSocial Platform Releases

      alright.....it doesn't take a lot of thinking to see this....listen would ya......Google's ----- the 's is possesive
      OpenSocial Platform ----- these are adjectives describing the upcoming NOUN

      here it is.....the NOUN are you ready for it........ ......RELEASES! wow.....now that really is a noun in a plural sense!

      damn thing didn't format right

    13. Re:Again, no! by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      I just thought, as I looked at the title again... "Hmmm, could be the submitter simply hit 's' vice 'd' on the keyboard." Could be a simple typo...

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  5. No SDK or Docs for Implementation, Though by duerra · · Score: 5, Informative

    Sure, Google released documentation for how to write these kinds of apps, but they have yet to release any documentation for sites looking to implement the APIs. This kinda limits its proliferation. I work for a fairly large social network, and thus far we have not been able to even get started on writing an implementation OpenSocial yet.

    1. Re:No SDK or Docs for Implementation, Though by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I take it you weren't invited to the campfire? Have you tried contacting google to sign up as a member?

  6. I used to think the MFC was a bitch to work with. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I used to think that the MFC was a real bitch to work with when developing applications. Every MFC app I've worked with, and there have been far too many, has been a complete eyesore.

    But after reviewing some of the code samples at http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/docs/javascript/index.html, I think that this is clearly a step in the wrong direction. JavaScript is good for minor effects on a website, but it just doesn't scale beyond that.

    Mixing it with XML is even worse. It's just plain ugly. At least C++ offered some degree of support for structured software development. JavaScript just doesn't offer that, even the newer versions like EcmaScript4. I'm glad I became a DBA, because I sure as hell would never want to develop with this sort of inferior technology.

  7. Duh by Mr_Silver · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Will Facebook give in?

    No.

    Time and history has shown us that when you're number 1, you don't give in until you absolutely have to - because you don't need to.

    That time has not yet come...

    --
    Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
    1. Re:Duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't forget, Facebook is a close Microsoft partner now. They will almost certainly integrate with whatever Microsoft tells them to integrate with.

    2. Re:Duh by owlnation · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yes. But they aren't currently number one. And they most certainly won't be after the others network together. But thanks for playing anyway...

    3. Re:Duh by Enderandrew · · Score: 1

      Myspace is the #1 website on the planet, and has more hits than either Yahoo or Google.

      So I don't see how Facebook is supposedly the #1 social networking site in your book.

      Either way, I don't really care for any of them.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    4. Re:Duh by Orthuberra · · Score: 0

      Time and history has shown us that when you're number 1, you don't give in until you absolutely have to - because you don't need to. Umm... ok, but Facebook isn't number one according to this its number 3 and the total membership of social networks in the summary blows Facebook out of the water. Please don't turn this into a myspace/facebook fanboy turf war, if that was your intention. If not then my apologies, carry on.

      As for the article, I'm not sure that it's enough pressure to get Facebook to change, as social networking sites have a pretty low barrier to entry and can easily get by on ad revenue. Which is why I believe there is room for multiple very popular social networks to exist. There will be people with accounts on 3 or 4 and others with accounts on just 1, but the requirements and overhead per account are really so low (a few developers for basic layout and options, everyone else is tending the server farms and that's about it) that it is possible for many to coexist (a commodities market). Whereas elsewhere (such as the OS wars) once Microsoft got on top in the 90's, the inertia of software already developed for it and systems in place created a high barrier to entry (resulting in the de facto monopoly we see today).

    5. Re:Duh by insertwackynamehere · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure Stevie B doesn't want Facebook integrating with Google

    6. Re:Duh by c_forq · · Score: 1

      Just because Ford may sell more cars than any other auto maker in the world does not make them the best, and it most certainly doesn't mean Ferrari should submit to standards that may hurt their performance edge.

      --
      Computers allow humans to make mistakes at the fastest speeds known, with the possible exception of tequila and handguns
    7. Re:Duh by drix · · Score: 1

      1.6% of Facebook is a close MS partner. Not exactly hostile takeover territory there.

      --

      I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
    8. Re:Duh by Enderandrew · · Score: 1

      We aren't talking about the "best". We're talking about a market leader not having to pander to those trying to catch up to it.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    9. Re:Duh by c_forq · · Score: 1

      The GGP simply stated Facebook was number one. He didn't specify in what regard. Saying something is number one is often used to describe quality in America.

      --
      Computers allow humans to make mistakes at the fastest speeds known, with the possible exception of tequila and handguns
    10. Re:Duh by Enderandrew · · Score: 1

      #1 in quality doesn't equate directly to success. His point was that someone who is #1 doesn't have to change to match other people. Market share is more important than quality in terms of flexibility to do your own thing. Using his car analogy, the Toyota Supra was hailed as perhaps the best sports car of its time, but it wasn't as popular, or cheap, or successful as the competition, so it died out. It no longer exists, where as the Camaro, Corvette, Mustang, etc. still exist today. Again, if his point is that being #1 means having the freedom to do your own thing, he is either wrong about Facebook being #1, or he is wrong about not having to worry about what everyone else is doing.

      And who would even argue that Facebook is #1 in quality? There are certainly other sites that more technology centric, with more AJAX features that allow you do so much more. There are better looking sites, better designed sites, sites with more members, and certainly sites with more traffic, and more revenue. So in what regard is Facebook #1?

      It isn't. My 60 year old mother has a Myspace page, because everyone does, sad but true. My coworkers in the IT department hadn't heard of Facebook when I mentioned it the other day, so if knowledgeable IT folks haven't even heard of it, you certainly aren't the king.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    11. Re:Duh by tgd · · Score: 1

      And yet #1 did give in.

      So much for that theory.

    12. Re:Duh by yashinka · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Perhaps they don't have the most accounts, but with the huge amount of fake accounts on MySpace, that figure is meaningless. I, like many people I know, have accounts on MySpace, Friendster and maybe a few others, but I only log in when I have friend requests.

      Facebook has the best UI and it already has tons of great apps. Until those apps move and all my friends move and users start changing back, I don't think Facebook has anything to worry about. Facebook has the most used photo app and events app on the internet, and those are just two of many. I think it's safe to say they are number one for now.

      --
      "Haven't you ever heard of the Emancipation Proclaimation?"
      "I don't listen to Hip-Hop!"
    13. Re:Duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If you add "in the US" to every sentence you wrote, then, you'd be accurate.

  8. Facebook vs Google by mfh · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Google is uniting these other sites because they each have something to gain from that alliance... new segments.

    Facebook has nothing to gain because people from each of those segments are already on Facebook.

    Facebook only has something to lose by joining that alliance... control over how their medium is dished up and the browser interstitials and advertisement revenue. My dollar is on Facebook for the long haul, unless they are shut down due to code theft (which is actually still in limbo right now, if I understand correctly).

    --
    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
    1. Re:Facebook vs Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google is uniting these other sites because they each have something to gain from that alliance... new segments. Yep.

      Facebook has nothing to gain because people from each of those segments are already on Facebook. Actually, that's not true. Facebook is only winning in the US. It has virtually no presence overseas, because it is not currently internationalized. They are hoping to have it translated by early next year, but they have a long way to go to catch up in other markets. In particular, with opensocial, Facebook might lose its most compelling advantage with its apps, and have a tougher time taking over in other markets. For example, the biggest social networking site in Japan is Mixi. There are lots of reports that they will be jumping on the OpenSocial bandwagon (though I have yet to see an official announcement). If by the time Facebook hits Japan, many of the same mini-applications work on Mixi, there won't be much reason to leave it for something else.

      Facebook only has something to lose by joining that alliance... control over how their medium is dished up and the browser interstitials and advertisement revenue. My dollar is on Facebook for the long haul, unless they are shut down due to code theft (which is actually still in limbo right now, if I understand correctly). They are in a difficult situation. They have the lead in the US, good buzz, so embracing an open standard only dillute their advantage. But not adopting it means its Facebook vs the world, which is quite the challenge to take on (well, they are aligned with Microsoft, but when has that ever worked out well in the long run for any company, ever?)

      After watching the rise and fall of friendster and myspace, I don't think its prudent to ever bet on a social networking site going anywhere in the long term. Just due to the shifting age groups, they are going to be driven by specific generations as fads much like popular music. Maybe facebook will somehow transcend this, but my guess is it'll be "uncool" in a couple of years just like the others, and something else will come along.
    2. Re:Facebook vs Google by mfh · · Score: 1

      Facebook, like any corporation (apart from the SCO), is smart enough to know how to handle PR, so it's not going to have a public image problem. This is a site that built itself around the public loving what it does for them for free. Not adopting free standards is easy for them because they can simply point at Google and say they have anterior (lol) motives which Google clearly does. Google has only to gain, Facebook has only to lose in that situation... why would Facebook bow to pressure from another company like Google?

      --
      The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
  9. Except their not #1 by cpu_fusion · · Score: 1

    Myspace has twice as many accounts. Or did you mean first to have an API? Well, that's true, but they don't have years of being ahead of the game there, and on top of that, we're talking about an open API from Google. ... !

  10. Google sent an open letter to Facebook: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative


    Dear Facebook,

    It's Cloberin' Time!

    Yours truly,
    The G-Unit Commandos.

  11. Consolidation Phase by broward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Social networking is peaking in growth, ergo it's entering a consolidation phase. Google's OpenSocial APi release is a brilliant counter-strategy (for once). FaceBook's API was a good gamble into a peaking market but I think Google has outdone them.

    My prediction on FaceBook's growth rate BEFORE the Google OpenSocial API release.

    http://www.realmeme.com/roller/page/realmeme?entry=social_networking_meme

    1. Re:Consolidation Phase by burris · · Score: 1

      You're nuts if you think social networking on the 'net is peaking. It has barely gotten started. Eventually, it will be as ubiquitous as personal phone numbers.

    2. Re:Consolidation Phase by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you ever noticed that there is more than one phone company, and that they interoperate through open standards? Think about that one for a little while...

  12. a dba eh? glad you stuck to that.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because I would hate to have you working in my shop..

    Javascript has its place on the CLIENT SIDE. Comparing c++ to javascript does'nt make any sense at all. They are completely different beasts. Compare c++ to python, php, perl, .net, or any other server side language but please not Javascript. Yes I agree xml sucks and a database is better, but javascript is far from inferior if used the right way. Javascript is fully object based, so I don't know how can you spew such things as lacking 'structured software development'. The lightweight libraries that are out now (jquery, scriptalicious) make Javscript a piece of cake to use without even having to learn the full language. But, if you actually take the time to learn the language you actually start to become fond of it. If you learn the language properly you will notice it 'scales' just fine (though your idea of scaling might be 100000 things on 1 client side page, when in actuality the real world of 'scaling' actually involves extensive DBA serverside work like you claim you do).

    1. Re:a dba eh? glad you stuck to that.. by Eli+Gottlieb · · Score: 1

      Back in the day we wrote applications that were supposed to actually make use of all that computing power users payed $1500 dollars for. We didn't think "server side" or "client side", we wrote our applications to damn well run on the user's machine!

    2. Re:a dba eh? glad you stuck to that.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, fucktard. All of today's major web browsers are written in C++. Yeah, dipshit. That's right. They're client-side applications, and they're written in C++. And they run your JavaScript web apps.

  13. "Will Facebook give in?" by Thwomp · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Would Microsoft be happy with this? After all they're sworn enemies of Google. Remember Microsoft has invested in Facebook, how much control/influence does it have on the company?

    1. Re:"Will Facebook give in?" by DrEldarion · · Score: 1

      I think it's something like one and a half percent. Hardly enough to make any sort of difference.

    2. Re:"Will Facebook give in?" by Cyko_01 · · Score: 1

      give in to what? Why wouldn't they want to add it? They are not telling them they have to replace the existing API (M$'s style), they are simply requesting that they add support for it. I doubt they would lose users by not supporting it though. Devs will just make separate Facebook versions(ripoffs) of the applications for use exclusively on facebook

  14. Localised site for Australia by natd · · Score: 1

    Australia gets screwed over again. Even New Zealand got ONE localised MySpace site and Austria got TWO!!!

    --
    Only big ligs use sigs.
  15. Load of Crap by z-j-y · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's Friday evening, and I don't have any friend, real or virtual. So I actually watched that retarded video. (highly recommended for a good laugh)

    All it is supposed to be, is so that you can write some stupid client side gadget, and you gadget can be run on every participating websites. BFD.

    Each site is still an isolated island. You gadget doesn't run across sites, it only runs on every sites. It is not for sharing anything or interacting with anybody among different sites.

    I've assumed that OpenSocial is about connecting users on different sites, probably most people did too, just from the misleading name and the hypes. But there's nothing open or social about it.

    One might argue that eventually Google will do that. I highly doubt it. What's in it for Google? All I am seeing at this point, is that they want to label FaceBook as a party pooper therefore it should be outcasted. How social is that.

    1. Re:Load of Crap by jo42 · · Score: 1

      Google is trying to get a cut of the action in hopes that someday, someway, they will make $$$$$$$$$ off of it.

  16. I was just wondering... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will the Web 2.0 bubble burst be semantic? I'm sure AJAX will be involved somehow...

  17. Demographics by brunes69 · · Score: 1

    MySpace may be the #1 website by traffic, but not by money-making eyeballs. MySpace's largest demographic is tweens and younger. Facebook's is High School to College and older. Guess which demographic spends more money?

    1. Re:Demographics by SnowZero · · Score: 1

      Guess which demographic spends more money? LinkedIn?

  18. Starting tonight? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As in now? 10:25 PM EST? Hmm, I wonder what the ratio of developers hurridly, and excitedly to start coding is to those that are actually having a friday nightlife?

    P.S. Why do you guys use an mp3 to read the antibot word? I thought ogg would be the way to go..

  19. Oh my! by Peaker · · Score: 1

    I actually did check that link out.

    Its worse than goatce! :-(

    1. Re:Oh my! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I agree. Don't post that fucking garbage without some kind of warning. I actually started watching it with my wife, thinking it would be something funny, or at least girl-on-girl action. But no. It was some chick shitting in a cup.

      Get a fucking life.

    2. Re:Oh my! by Silver+Gryphon · · Score: 3, Informative

      In the future, you could use this as a painful lesson that sometimes Google is a great source of information on the random link posted by an unknown person. I speak from experience as one who has been burned in a similar manner.

      A Google search for the domain name reveals a warning that even I won't ignore.

      Digg - Funny reaction to 2Girls1Cup
      Warning: DO NOT visit 2girls1cup.com to see what they are watching. Seriously. Don't. Some things, once seen, cannot be unseen. ...

    3. Re:Oh my! by kv9 · · Score: 1

      I actually started watching it with my wife, thinking it would be something funny, or at least girl-on-girl action. But no. It was some chick shitting in a cup. Get a fucking life. ooh, did she ground you?
    4. Re:Oh my! by kv9 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Warning: DO NOT visit 2girls1cup.com to see what they are watching. Seriously. Don't. Some things, once seen, cannot be unseen. ... there, fixed that for you.
  20. Google Authentication? by crf00 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Authenticating to the OpenSocial People service

    You can access both public and private feeds using the OpenSocial People data API. Public feeds don't require any authentication, but they are read-only. If you want to view Friends then your client needs to authenticate before requesting private feeds. It can authenticate using either of two approaches: ClientLogin username/password authentication or AuthSub proxy authentication.

    How could I authenticate myself into other social websites like Friendster then?
    Authentication is one of the most important aspect to make OpenSocial open, I think.

  21. Mixing Orkut + Myspace and facebook people by unity100 · · Score: 1

    in the same api/environment ? oh bugger off !!!

    any api/environment that has myspace in it caters to, well, myspace crowd ( good lord there is no other way to put it). i wouldnt think any average user of facebook would like to ( god forbid) mingle with myspacers in an environment, regardless of the api.

  22. Total non-feature by tjstork · · Score: 2, Interesting

    While I'm sure that there are some people that like to have their networking links travel from place to place, I think this is a feature that is really designed to benefit on-line marketers more than end users. Developers that write for these APIs, are really sort of fools, because ultimately, they are giving away to Google and others information that they should really actually -pay for-. If I were lucky enough to put some social site together with millions of hits, the last thing I'd want to would be to give away all of my behavior information to Google. If they want it, then they can write me a fricking check.

    MY CUSTOMERS! MINE, MINE, MINE!

    --
    This is my sig.
  23. Social Networking in Corporate Intranet by ScorpFromHell · · Score: 1

    With so much brouhaha about social networking, Web 2.0, networking analytics, etc. that the internet is spewing, I wonder where this is all leading to from a corporate intranet perspective. Am sure even if the CIO (or which ever CXO is responsible for IT & security) is not ready to open up these sites in his/her corporate network (by putting up site blockers, etc.), employees will find out a way to bring them in. So is it not prudent for the CIO to include social networking in the IT strategy of the organization?

    OTOH, for the sales & marketing managers this could be a god send. It would be even very helpful for the product managers. These social networking mechanisms connect the customers directly with the product managers as shown by the GM, Lenovo, etc. blogs which led to the development of new products based on the direct inputs from customers to the product managers! Youtube kind of sites offering a very easy means of creating effective viral marketing.

    The traditional CRM strategies that help the marketing, sales & service people need to be upgraded to include social networking. This indeed is happening with lots of talks about CRM 2.0! *not again* All that CRM 2.0 says is to enable customers to connect directly with the business in a much more integrated manner.

    With the raise of open source business apps like compiere, openbravo & especially since SugarCRM getting GPLed, CRM & ERP systems have suddenly gotten within the reach of numerous SMBs who hitherto could not afford to splurge millions on systems like SAP or Siebel.

    Now Google's OpenSocial being supported by SugarCRM from its launch puts a lot of pressure on the traditional CRM approach as well as vendors.

    All that remains now is to come out with an architecture for integrating social computing apps with the traditional enterprise applications.

    --
    -- Prem
    Aiming to tweet on a rice ... help me find the write pen!
    1. Re:Social Networking in Corporate Intranet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, I haven't looked into the API myself, but I can imagine it offering some useful opportunities for interfacing w/ salesforce in a corporate environment. The rest of the sites... not so much.

    2. Re:Social Networking in Corporate Intranet by ScorpFromHell · · Score: 1

      I am sorry its not SugarCRM but Salesforce.com that's supporting OpenSocial.

      --
      -- Prem
      Aiming to tweet on a rice ... help me find the write pen!
  24. Will Facebook give in? by subl33t · · Score: 1

    Not until MySpace solves their spam problem.

  25. PDF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anyone wrapped these api's in a convenient-to-print PDF file?

  26. BAD BAD LINK! by phorm · · Score: 1

    No, do NOT thank him for the link. Moreover, unless you're into fecaleating, I recommend you do not click on it or at the very least do not watch past the first 2-3 seconds. It look good to start... but I really must remember *not* to click on links from slashdot posts.

    1. Re:BAD BAD LINK! by 4D6963 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Nah, this thing is fake to a certain extent. I've never seen human poop looking like that, they probably stuffed some brown stuff up their bottom and "crapped" it.

      --
      You just got troll'd!
    2. Re:BAD BAD LINK! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At least it was a girl=S

      God damn it what a crap video.

  27. OpenID! Please?? by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 1, Informative

    I first heard about this yesterday, and went "Oh cool, so Google's finally implementing OpenID. Maybe they'll do for that what they did for Jabber."

    You see, Google Talk is a Jabber IM service. That means that while the Google Talk client itself probably only works with Google, you can, in fact, talk to anyone, on any domain, on any Jabber server, from your Google Talk account, and vice versa. It's IM, but with the decentralization, flexibility, and possibility of competition that you find in email.

    Well, OpenID is like that, but for authentication and profiles. I can sign up for an OpenID anywhere, and it will work anywhere that supports OpenID. It means that any site that would otherwise require free registration can simply require an OpenID. It's like single sign on, but your authentication server can be anywhere, and can be tied to an account... and you can use any authentication method, really. Most people would use usernames/passwords, I'd probably use a PGP key or something.

    Anyway...

    It's not OpenID.

    That's fine, the OpenID "standards" are a mess, but...

    It's not even a replacement for OpenID. If anything, it's a replacement for Passport, but you have a Google account instead of an MSN account. Ok, yes, I can access my social networking data from any random website, as part of a web app -- but what if I don't want to be on Orkut?

    In other words...

    Why have they replaced a few tiny walled gardens (MySpace, Facebook) with a gated community? Why not just open it up, especially if you're going to pretend it's "open"?

    --
    Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
  28. FB is #1 in number of 3rd party applications by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The point of this exercise isn't audience size. No other social networking site has the API buzz that Facebook has created, nor the number of deployed applications.

    So the answer "no", Facebook won't give in. Maybe when they start losing market share, but not now. Actually, this looks more like an act of desperation from the other social networking sites to catch up. When competitors join up against a common foe, it says a lot about the strength of that foe.

  29. Not SO open by Gromgull · · Score: 0
    As Shelly points out:

    "this is not an open API; this is a free API, owned and controlled by one company only: Google. Hopefully, the world will remember another time when Google offered a free API and then pulled it."
    --
    -- .
  30. This is what Web 2.0 is all about. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mozilla is the TV inside your computer; a dummy program with Back-Forward-Follow buttons that feeds you all kinds of disturbing, irrelevant information.

    There are certain businesses that have very strong interests in this model and who profit by disturbing the user with ads.

    Those businesses want you to use only the "Mozilla TV" program which defaults to this behavior. In order to achieve that, they make the content distributed in such complex/undocumented protocols that no other program can display it (well, IE too). And when other browsers get close, they present new versions of the protocols (javascript 3, CSS 3, HTML 5), which they write, approve, implement in "Mozilla TV".

    This is "Web 2.0"

    Content can be viewed only by certain programs which are controlled by the ads-business.
    The other part of the deal is making websites switch to Web 2.0

  31. third time's a charm by fulldecent · · Score: 1

    smells like web3.0 is looming in the air.

    --

    -- I was raised on the command line, bitch