Several people have asked me recently about my thoughts on Google's recent release at the beginning of this month of Open Social, a set of common APIs for building social applications on the web. Since I have really been neglecting my blog over the last few months, I figured I would begin by discussing my (still quite undeveloped) thoughts on this project.

First, I think it is quite obvious that Open Social is an incredibly smart idea in theory. It is a set of three common APIs, defined by Google with input from partners, that allow developers to access core functions and information at social networks such as profile information, friends Information and social activities, things that would be found in Facebook's news feed for example. It also allows developers lots of latitude with respect to how their applications are created instead of relying on a proprietary mark-up language the way Facebook does. Developers can use normal javascript and html and can even embed Flash elements. But the advantage of this approach is really its ability to provide developers with one way to reach users across multiple different platforms. Initial partners include LinkedIn, Ning, Hi5, Plaxo and Friendster with developers like Flixster, iLike, RockYou and Slide already developing applications.

The problem is, however, that in order for Open Social to integrate into a platform, the platform itself has to become a 'host'. This means that instead of developers going where the critical mass of users are (i.e. facebook or myspace) they must wait for the platforms these users have already integrated their social activities into to come to them. This is not necessarily a problem if popular platforms open up to the project and many have. But what would be the advantage to the giants in social networking of doing so, particularly in the case of Facebook?

Since its release, many people have stated that this is a blatant attack on Facebook where it is the weakest, its quintessential closed nature. But it is its closed nature that has been attracting record numbers of users, particularly internationally. The integration of applications within this closed environment means that users have control over their information and social connections, while still bing able to easily utilize incredible amounts of functionality with a mouse click. And lets not forget that the adoption of applications is viral thanks to the news feed. Developers have the ability to tap into a huge user base that is already paying attention.

Now, I am not intending to sing Facebook's praises unconditionally. Any developer knows that, while creating an app for the platform is quite simple, its restrictions and limitations are incredibly frustrating at times. It has also become frustrating to attempt to reach users across multiple platforms, having to learn different APIs or method of creating applications that will work in different situations. Open Social gets rid of this problem. It also gets rid of the need for developers to find hosting solutions for their applications, something that many of the more popular Facebook apps, such as iLike, had to struggle with in the beginning when their user base shot up exponentially overnight. It also takes a lot of the strain off of the platforms themselves. Imagine, for instance, how much of a project the Facebook Developer platform was for the in-house developers.

All in all, I think where Open Social will initially have the most success is with the less popular social networks and smaller developers who have good reason to participate since Google will be doing all the heavy lifting. But I don't see this as being a Facebook killer, at least not in its present incarnation. While I am a firm believer that the future of social software is indeed moving towards a more open and less proprietary environment, Open Social is still relying on its success through integration with the proprietary. And the leaders in that field have very little incentive to join the band wagon. Developers of these kind of integrated applications, however, will naturally be excited to try out something new. But the bottom line is, developers flock to where the users are and the users are, for the time being, on Facebook and Myspace.