Googlehas launched an open set
ofapplication
programming interfaces(APIs) for the social
networking sector, a move that has been interpreted by some as a
shot across the bows of its rivalFacebook.
OpenSocial, a set of APIs that lets third-party developers build
applications with minimal modification, has galvanised support from
popular social networking websites such as
Bebo,
LinkedIn and
Friendster. Even business sites
salesforce.com and
Oracle have pledged to join. Google's own
Orkut social
networking site and customisable home page,
iGoogle, are
naturally expected to adopt OpenSocial.
Third party applications will provide a massive boost to the
social networking sector, argued Ovum analyst David Bradshaw.
"Users enjoy more functionality, while website owners get more
visitors, meaning advertising revenue."
Application owners can gain revenues in several ways, predicted
Bradshaw, primarily through ads placed in their application.
Facebook pioneered this use of third-party applications on its
site, and analysts judged this as an astute move and an instant
success. But the insistence on proprietary APIs could prove costly
in the long term, warned Bradshaw.
Where Facebook asks web application builders to jump through
proprietary hoops, they might immediately prefer the open APIs
associated with OpenSocial. "Applications on Facebook will be a lot
harder to deploy on other sites and vice-versa, while OpenSocial
widgets should be relatively easy to deploy to between sites."
"OpenSocial's appeal is straightforward: build for one
OpenSocial-compliant website and you can deploy in lots of other
places too," he said.
The significance, said Bradshaw, is that we are now seeing the
first clear challenge to Facebook's appeal. "I think OpenSocial has
a very good chance [of diverting web traffic]. Facebook may be one
of the hottest properties on the web, but it is by no means the
only popular social networking website, nor is its continued 'hot'
status guaranteed."