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Just days after Google apparently lost the opportunity to buy into Facebook to Microsoft, the company is expected to reveal details of its social networking master plan on Thursday. OpenSocial is a new set of standard APIs that will allow application developers to more easily build apps for social networks.
Google goal is to help shape the standards used between developers and social networks. Likely the move came from being shutout from Facebook. Not only did Google not get a piece of the social network, but Facebook uses a proprietary API that requires developers build apps specifically for it–sounds much like cell phone companies, doesn’t it?
So, Google’s OpenSocial will focus on three standard APIs that that will act as a conduit to the core data of social networks:
- Profile details
- Friends info
- Activities (the stuff you do)
According to reports from TechCrunch and the NYT, initial social network partners signed-on include:
- Orkut (shocker!)
- Ning
- Plaxo
- Friendster
- Viadeo
- Saleforce
- Hi5
- Oracle
Application developers include:
- iLike
- Flixster
- RockYou
- Slide
Noticeably absent? Microsoft and Facebook. Still, we know that Google has been working on this for months. Maybe Facebook chose MSFT because Google would have insisted the social network adopt their APIs?
With Facebook rumored to be launching their own advertising platform next week, it seems we’re going to see a big face-off between Google and Facebook.
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