No Welcome for Open Social?
You know I was skeptical of the Open Social - Google’s social networking api alliance thing. For a variety of reasons not least of which is that it’s an API designed by huge committee. A committee of container hosts, developers and Google - everyone scratching for their input. I just don’t see how that’s going to be a success.
For another thing, it doesn’t exist yet. They launched with no real API, no live containers and no live apps. What? It’s all part of Google’s inability to stand behind anything it does, it’s utter lack of confidence. What it should have done is specified a basic, but complete API, found a couple high profile content partners and worked intensively with them to implement those API’s, found a bunch of app developers worked with them to develop apps for those content partners and gone live one day with a big bang. Real api’s with real developers and real content. Then they could work with all those people and see what changes could be made and create an open specification of which they would be the benevolent dictators, you know, like how every large, successful open source project works.
Instead they launched with nothing and continue to have nothing. Bebo is their first casualty - a member of the alliance it’s just announced it’s Open Application Platform. Open Social? Maybe in 2008. Instead it’s got a platform that is based on Facebook’s platform - in fact Facebook worked with them to get their platform going and just announced that the Facbebook Platform Architecture is now open for other sites to implement.
Let’s compare and contrast. Even back in the day when the Zucks launched this thing it was launched as an existing development platform with many applications running already. Developers could immediately start working in the live environment.
Fast forward to now. You have a choice, Open Social, a non-existent work in progress. According to one developer it is no where near ready to go. No apps, a few developers, and a bit of fading buzz. Or you can work with the Facebook platform. Billions of apps already running, a huge developer base and a proven system. Which are you going to choose?
If you’re a big enough site, I suspect that just like with Bebo, Facebook will work with you to help with the implementation. I’d put odds that Bebo never supports Open Social or half-asses it and lets it languish just to not piss off the G. I mean - if you’re a startup do you really have the resources to fully support two distinct platforms while at the same time maintaining and enhancing your core site? I’m guessing that’ll be a no.
The stupid thing of it all is that Google screwed itself. The only reason Facebook is going openish like this is to squash Open Social before it can start. By launching a vaporous product Google’s given Facebook months to decide what to do and do it before Open Social has even coalesced into a decent spec much less implemented anywhere. By not having the guts to actually create an inital API and instead going with some kind of group thing, they’ve dragged out the process to forever. It would be totally different situation right now if Bebo and LinkedIn and MySpace had announced a functional implementation that developers could work in immediately when G announced Open Social. Very different.
While I think that the whole notion that a platform will be write once run anywhere is probably more wish than actuality… I think a common platform is a good idea. I suspect that Facebook just won that war for the time being, but maybe I’m wrong? GASP! What’re your predictions?
