Write apps once, run them everywhere but Facebook

by on November 1, 2007

Disruption.

That’s what just happened.

Google and MySpace just dropped a major bomb on Facebook: they are joining forces to build a new social networking application platform that overnight will be considered the standard.

Chris, CEO of MySpace, about why open approach.

Joe from Flixter denotes why this is SO HUGE: his app will run anywhere that the OpenSocial platform is running. Plaxo. Ning. NewsGator. MySpace. No rewriting of apps.

One thing. Those apps now will run everywhere BUT Facebook.

  • Rob
    Wow. Just wow.
  • Northern
    Sun said the same thing about Java. The world didn't end when not everyone went over to using Java. The "write once, run anywhere" mantra is old and doesn't work in practice. Something always screws something up, be it underlying versions of something, a broken library, a crappy setting -- something. It just never works as advertised.
  • Ted
    Having watched the hype around FaceBook, it is clear that most pundits don't know what the heck they're taking about. This is exactly the way things needed to go. Although Dave doesn't think it will really disrupt.... http://www.scripting.com/stories/2007/10/31/aBi...
  • Northern
    I agree with Dave.

    Personally, I hope this play by Google fails miserably. First everyone was worried about "all of your data belong to Microsoft", now they really need to worry. Google is a privacy killer. Any company who cooperates with a government like China because it's the cost of doing business, and then people are imprisoned wrongly deserves no ones respect, but the money smoothes everything over.

    Blinded. By. Money.
  • Bob
    I don't get it.
    What's to prevent FaceBook from using this Google API? Is Google discriminating? Pissed that Facebook rejected their bid?
  • bz
    But will the openness stop MySpace from being a spam whore and kicking open 30 hijack windows everytime I go there?

    MySpace is dead. Who cares.
  • What's more annoying than a Facebook profile loaded with 30 dumbass app boxes?

    A $GOOGLE_THING profile loaded with 30 dumbass app boxes where all of them are inserted with fucking *Javascript*.

    Browser-crashing-bluescreen-beachball-OSbusting-tastic, Batman.

    Apart from the soul-crushingly stupid notion that anybody's in Facebook because they think "Zombies" is wikkid kewl... if I was Facebook and everybody else on the field just agreed to fill their pages with a metric buttload of slow-loading JS, I'd be laughing all the way to the bank about now.
  • when i write an app, it runs everywhere.

    b/c i write apps for the real platform, the web. this is like talking about apps that run on both AOL and Compuserve.
  • I don't get what the big deal here is, Facebook is king. Facebook has the right audience, a LARGE audience and they are loyal. MySpace really sucks and can't suck enough.

    I think what Google is getting is second best, they couldn't compete with Microsoft and lost out on Facebook, pretty simple.

    The Open Social API is a poor shot in the dark at Facebook, but that's all it is. Who cares about Ning, Plaxo or any of the others including MySpace? Umm...no one.

    If Microsoft plays it right and lets Facebook do what they do best Microsoft will be in a great position to do well with the #1 social network on the web.

    Google shot is a weak effort at something, much like their docs.

    We will see.
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