OpenSocial – The unified open web API

Orkut, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Ning, Hi5, Plaxo, Friendster, Viadeo, Oracle, Flixster, iLike, RockYou and Slide under one roof ? Google headed OpenSocial aims exactly at that and much more.

Google wants to create an easy way for developers to create an application that works on all social networks. What Google hasn’t done is launch yet another social network platform.

OpenSocial is a set of three common APIs, defined by Google with input from partners , viz :

• Profile Info.
• Friends Information
• Activities / Feeds etc.

Open Social is an open web API that can be supported by two kinds of developers:

• “Containers” — social networking systems like Ning, Orkut, LinkedIn, Hi5, and Friendster, and…
• “Apps” — applications that want to be embedded within containers — for example, the kinds of applications built by iLike, Flixster, Rockyou, and Slide

Facebook requires the use of FBML (FaceBook Markup Language) for security reasons. OpenSocial would not be having a markup language of it’s own. Developers can code in HTML / JS / Flash / CSS. This would make it easier for developers.

[ via TechCrunch and blog.pmarca.com ]