Update: MySpace, SixApart, and Bebo have officially joined the OpenSocial!
TechCrunch >_ “OpenSocial 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:
Hosts agree to accept the API calls and return appropriate data. Google won’t try to provide universal API coverage for special use cases, instead focusing on the most common uses. Specialized functions/data can be accessed from the hosts directly via their own APIs. (more…)
Speaking the Graphing Social Patterns conference (covering the business and technology of Facebook) in San Jose today, Linkedin founder and chairman Reid Hoffman poured cold water on the notion that a single social graph would prevail. “One graph that includes all types of relationships in one perfectly orchestrated universe is a geek, blogger dream. It’s not mass market,” Hoffman said. “The amount of effort in building and maintaining it is hard. It may be important to have different baseline rules for different brands and different networks.”
“The simple misconception is that any communications infrastructure can be used for anything. The question is what is the use case. The interesting overlap is public profile presence in search engines and the potential business applications that can be built on the social graph,” he added.
Just as one Web site cannot be all things to all people, and there won’t be one graph binding them all, Hoffman said. “Diversity is part of what makes the ecosystem good and interesting for consumers.”
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