I would agree with Don, but something inside of me feels like playing devil's advocate.
OpenSocial isn't about killing facebook in its tracks, but is a wise move in the long-term. Nobody is arguing if facebook will be around in 1 year, but will it be in 10?
With their platform, facebook defined the scene as "facebook is open for people to make apps, everyone else is closed". With OpenSocial, the frame is "facebook apps use proprietary markup, OpenSocial apps use web standards".
I don't think OpenSocial as it is now is the only thing that's coming out from Google that will affect facebook. If this pattern continues, facebook is in for a PR nightmare.
And let's not underestimate the value of public perception - being seen as "the guys with the proprietary markup" or "the guys with the walled garden" for long enough puts you in the position Microsoft is in now - where people are just waiting for a reason to bash.
OpenSocial isn't about killing facebook in its tracks, but is a wise move in the long-term. Nobody is arguing if facebook will be around in 1 year, but will it be in 10?
With their platform, facebook defined the scene as "facebook is open for people to make apps, everyone else is closed". With OpenSocial, the frame is "facebook apps use proprietary markup, OpenSocial apps use web standards".
I don't think OpenSocial as it is now is the only thing that's coming out from Google that will affect facebook. If this pattern continues, facebook is in for a PR nightmare.
And let's not underestimate the value of public perception - being seen as "the guys with the proprietary markup" or "the guys with the walled garden" for long enough puts you in the position Microsoft is in now - where people are just waiting for a reason to bash.