Struggling to keep up with Facebook.com, MySpace is expanding third-party development to allow programmers to create applications specifically for the site’s members.
MySpace came on strong in 2005 and 2006, garnering millions of members worldwide, and projecting the site to the top of the net. But 2007 was a very different story. The company faced security issues, as parents became increasingly concerned about online sexual predators. Several high profile cases brought MySpace negative attention in 2007, and new memberships have slipped somewhat from their high point in 2006.
FaceBook, on the other hand, has flourished in the wake of MySpace’s troubles. With a reputation for increased security, and a slightly older demographic, FaceBook seemed a logical alternative for many Web surfers, especially in light of the bad publicity surrounding MySpace.
But now, MySpace is taking the offensive, and is launching a new web developer’s site to provide tools for programmers to create applications to run directly on the site. Developers will be able to produce applications in a “sandbox” environment, where consumers will not have access to them until they are given the green light by MySpace officials.
In a sense, MySpace is playing catch up when it comes to third-party applications. FaceBook already has more than 14,000 software applications created specifically for their site, a move that has increased the popularity of the site and is helping to attract new members.
Even though MySpace is showing up late in the game when it comes to third-party development, the company is determined to “out-app” its rival by the end of 2008. And MySpace is not the only social networking web site following FaceBook’s lead. Google unveiled its OpenSocial project last November, which aims to establish a common set of application interfaces (or API’s) for all social networking web sites.
Google’s OpenSocial program would allow applications built specifically for one social networking site — MySpace for example — to work on any other social networking site. Currently, each of the social networking giants has their own specific format, and applications produced for one site are not transferable to others.
This is obviously bad for software developers, as it requires them to reprogram their most popular applications in a wide variety of formats. It’s also bad for consumers, as many users of FaceBook, for example, would like to be able to use some of the same applications on their MySpace page.
Google’s attempt to standardize third-party software on social sites should help on both counts… assuming that all of the major players can agree to Google’s standardized format, something that has yet to happen.
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