I joined a social network and still don’t have any friends. I joined orkut, Google’s social network. So far? Profile views: 2, friends: 0, messages: 0.
That may be about to change. Google has launched OpenSocial, a set of common open platforms for collaborative programming, to be shared across social networking platforms.
It’s a place where people can develop applications that run inside social networks, and these development environments will have a set of standards, making it possible for them to work across multiple platforms such as MySpace and orkut.
Consider it similar to a cell phone charger. You get a great new phone, and then forget to bring the charger on vacation.
If your friends don’t have the same kind of phone, you have two options; either you deem the new device obsolete without a working battery, or purchase a new charger ““ essentially starting over.
Social-networking platforms were like this. There was no place to just plug in a universal code.
Bebo, Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, LinkedIn, Mixi, MySpace, Ning, Oracle, orkut, Plaxo, Salesforce.com, Six Apart, Tianji, Viadeo, and XING are all partners with Google and will work with the OpenSocial platform.
Many more companies are “gadget” partners including Flixster, iLike, The New York Times and PayPal.
Many technical details have yet to be released, but programmers can develop gadgets without that having even happened yet.
“Social-networking sites provide a unique opportunity to build compelling and unique applications. For the first time, developers can access the information about how people are connected, and we believe that (it) will result in a new class of applications and will also reinvent many of the services where people spend time on the Web today,” said Ramu Yalamanchi, CEO of hi5 in an e-mail.
One of the partners, Ning, is an interesting example of a social network. They, rather than being a social network, are a place to foster social networks. They have joined forces with Google and hope that it will continue to grow.
“It’s been in our plans to do this type of open compositing across the networks on Ning, so we love it. What this means for network creators and members of social networks on Ning is more to do and the ability to create the exact right social networks for them,” said Gina Bianchini, CEO and co-founder of Ning in an e-mail.
iLike, a Web site and current Facebook application, allows users to share playlists and music recommendations, functioning in and outside of music communities and iTunes.
“Our vision is to help artists connect with fans anywhere online. OpenSocial is a powerful new way for iLike to empower artists to cultivate and communicate with their fanbases on many leading social networks, including MySpace, orkut and more,” said Emily Glassman, spokeswoman for iLike.
The student response, as far as I can tell, appears to be mostly disinterest.
“It’s interesting, but I don’t know if it affects me in a huge way,” said Ian Andrews, a chemistry graduate student.
But some students, such as Jacob Gutierrez, a second-year psychology student, are concerned with the new implications of convergence on the Internet.
He is concerned about the already existing flow of information across social networking ““ we can see photos of people, what they’ve been up to, all from afar.
“Like with any social network, people (can) stalk people more efficiently,” he said.
He then concluded this with the perplexing question; “it’s public domain, so how private can it be?”
I, however, already added a gadget on my friendless orkut, called “cat photos.”
It has been relevant entertainment in my life, and even allowed me to discover new photos to send to people. So far, “cat photos” is even reaching out to my friends, making them laugh.
One day I hope to send an AIM through Google chat to someone on Myspace, upload the same cat photos to my profiles on multiple platforms, and share news, events and information in whole new ways across social networks, programming platforms, national boundaries and news programs alike.
The possibilities of social networking are endless; the questions we can ask are a lot more interesting than any answers we can find today. Tomorrow, however, the answers are going to be really interesting.
E-mail Rood at drood@media.ucla.edu.