Google announced today a new open API for social networks. The new project, called OpenSocial is a set of common APIs that application developers can use to create applications that work on any social network that choose to participate.
Google wants to create an easy way for developers to create applications that work on all social networks, as opposed to the current situation where you have the likes of Facebook requiring developers to create applications in their own markup language.
This way Google is encouraging social networks to subscribe to an open API philosophy and will mean (if it is successful) Google will be at the center of equation, controlling the Open API network of social sites.
Already signed up as participating hosts are: Orkut, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Ning, Hi5, Plaxo, Friendster, Viadeo and Oracle. Developer partners include Flixster, iLike, RockYou and Slide.
The list above is an impressive one and should mean that developers will take advantage of the new opportunity to build once and reach many, through this new API standard. No doubt the developers who get in their early will reap most of the rewards, as they did on Facebook, so it will be interesting to watch who gets there first.
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