Microsoft better for Web 2.0 development than Google, eBay, Yahoo, Facebook, or PayPal

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 06 May 2008 02:06

Business IT - Networking

Software developers active in Web 2.0 development have ranked Microsoft’s MSN/Live Windows Developer Program higher than developer programs offered by Google, eBay, Yahoo, Facebook, or PayPal.
Evans Data Corporation's 2008  Web 2.0 Developer Programs Users’ Choice survey, conducted in March  saw Microsoft’s site edging past Google’s in developer user satisfaction.

The survey asked respondents to rate seven leading Web 2.0 sites across 13 different developer program categories, including API functionality, blogs, marketing assistance, documentation, forums, ongoing communications/RSS, support, tools/SDKs, and Web Services.

“Microsoft has devoted a lot of effort to enhancing the MSN/Live Windows program over the last year,” said John Andrews, president and CEO of Evans Data Corp. “And those efforts have paid off in a decidedly higher level of user satisfaction than we saw last year. Google, as well as eBay, Yahoo! and others have several areas of strength for developers, but Microsoft has much more experience in developer programs and it shows. Cultivating a development community is strategic as Web 2.0 moves from consumer-facing social applications to a business-to-business strategy for many companies.”