MySpace Announces Development Platform

MySpace announced a new open sourced development platform, using Google's OpenSocial technology. Programmers will now be able to add custom applications to be used on the social networking site.

The MySpace Developer Platform site was introduced as a place for developers to learn about the application programming interface, connect with each other, build, test and deploy applications intended for the popular social networking site. MySpace is a founding member of Google's OpenSocial standard, which gives developers a platform to build applications that can be used on many social networking sites. This development represents a big boost to Google's development standard, but Forbes indicates that it is unclear how they will profit from it at this time. The application platform includes Flash Action scripts, as well as the standard javascript and html. There is also server to server communication networking. Interested programmers can get first hand experience with the platform at an event hosted at the new MySpace headquarters in San Francisco. For the first month, programmers can get involved online, developing, testing and working with their new applications in a live environment. Beginning in March, MySpace users will be able to try out the new applications, which will all be launched at the same time, by adding them to their profile, similar to the way Facebook users can do so. There is real cash value for developers to get in on this action, as they will be allowed to attach ads, sponsorships and product sales to their applications, to generate their own revenue. As far as security on the social networking site goes, developers will only have access to limited geographic and demographic information about members who are included in their own public MySpace profiles. MySpace CTO Aber Whitcomb indicated that "Applications will be governed by the same privacy controls that are in place for members. An application will never have access to information that cannot be found on any member's profile page. Applications will also go through a rigorous safety review process before going live to our members." That being said, applications developed on the new site will be able to access publicly available profile information, including a user's friends list, interests, photos and albums, video and status notifications. About the new social networking platform, MySpace CEO and co-founder Chris DeWolfe said

"The future of the global social Web will leverage the creativity of the masses to produce meaningful and diverse social experiences, pushing the industry to be more innovative and progressive. We are committed to lowering the barrier to entry for developers around the world to build a more collaborative and dynamic Internet, while empowering our members to take control of their online presence in new and exciting ways."

The possiblities are certainly there, but it seems that the applications will be driven by advertisements which always takes up that precious real estate on the page and can be a bit of an eyesore. We may just have to wait until March to see how the initial wave of applications turn out.