eMedia Daily

The 6 essential things you need to know about Google’s OpenSocial

OpenSocial from Google provides a common set of APIs for social applications across multiple websites. With standard JavaScript and HTML, developers can create apps that access a social network’s friends and update feeds. So what else do you need to know?

1. OpenSocial only offers the lowest common denominator, not the full richness of each social networking platform.
2. OpenSocial is largely based on open standards and there’s only minor developer lock-in.
3. OpenSocial is a real doorway to social networking data portability as well as potential security holes.
4. OpenSocial is simple and straightforward but also capable of developing full-blown, rich Internet applications.
5. OpenSocial is from Google and excessive philanthropy should not be expected.
6. A new era in competency in social software is being ushered in by models like OpenSocial.

For more details, read more from Dion Hinchcliffe at Social Computing Magazine.