OpenSocial is a set of common application programming interfaces (APIs) for web-based social network applications, developed by Google along with MySpace and a number of other social networks. It was released November 1, 2007. Applications implementing the OpenSocial APIs will be interoperable with any social network system that supports them, including features on sites such as Hi5.com, MySpace, orkut, Netlog, Sonico.com, Friendster, Ning and Yahoo!-Wikipedia.com
Here is am interesting presentation on Open Social
Sounds great right? So why is Facebook is denying the love? Facebook COO Owen Van Natta responded by saying his company was "evaluating" OpenSocial. "Standards which reduce friction for developers are good," he said. "Facebook is going to embrace standards which enhance those things." However, "privacy and control of security is really important. If that is going to be undermined in any way, that is something we can't do," he added.-SeekingAlpha.com
Seems to me that the other reason is that they have Facebook Connect. Facebook Connect is a single sign-on service that competes with OpenID, the service enables Facebook users to login to affiliated sites using their Facebook account and share information from such sites with their Facebook friends.-Wikipedia.com
Come on Facebook-can't we all just get along?
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My take is that I think Facebook and MySpace represent two very different approaches, although they frequently sound the same. MySpace is more for getting users at all costs, full "splash page" ads, attracting younger users, and has less directed marketing. Facebook, by comparison, is geared towards older users, has more safety features built-in, and has more low-profile contextual advertisements. Facebook seems to be betting on applications as well, and they have their own development framework that ensures these applications "live" on Facebook. This is a "walled garden" type of approach that has pros and cons, but definitely seems to be against the current direction of the 'net, aye?
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