MySpace is a part of OpenSocial community

Stephen Withers
Friday, 02 November 2007 09:30

Your IT - Home IT

When Google formally announced the OpenSocial API, MySpace was there after all.

OpenSocial is a set of Google-developed routines that will allow applications developed for one social networking site to be more readily transferred to another.

"Our partnership with Google allows developers to gain massive distribution without unnecessary specialized development for every platform," said Chris DeWolfe, CEO and co-founder of News Corp subsidiary MySpace. "This is about helping the start-up spend more time building a great product rather than rebuilding it for every social network."

Among other members of the group are Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, LinkedIn, Ning, Oracle, Orkut, Plaxo, Salesforce.com, Six Apart, Tianji, Viadeo, and XING. Some are social networking site operators, some develop applications for such sites, and others produce software that could benefit from tapping into social networks.

"As the most trafficked website in the country and the most popular social network in the world, MySpace is one of the leading forces in the global social Web," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "We're thrilled to grow our strategic relationship with MySpace by joining forces on this important initiative."

According to a New York Times report, Google has invited Facebook - the other big player in the social networking space - to join the project, and a meeting between the two companies is scheduled for this week.