Last week Facebook got a little more deeply into bed with the rich, but dorky kid from Redmond. The PR hasn't been the best for them.
Tomorrow (November 1), Google launches OpenSocial. As O'Reilly Radar's Brady Forrest says, it's "a new open API for social networks. The new standard will allow developers to create Facebook-like apps on any social network site that implements it with the same calls." Scoble asks, "Will Google "Friendster" Facebook?" And adds, "(Facebook) are about to meet their biggest competition yet."
There are a lot of partners jumping on the OpenSocial bandwagon as TechCrunch notes, "Orkut, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Ning, Hi5, Plaxo, Friendster, Viadeo and Oracle" and developers that "include Flixster, iLike, RockYou and Slide." Arrington comments, "The timing of OpenSocial couldn’t be better."
The kid from Redmond just might not think so. And that supposed 15 billion dollar Facebook valuation? It may have dropped by a billion or three.
UPDATE: Arrington comments today (Nov 1),
Google may have just come out of nowhere and checkmated Facebook in the social networking power struggle.
MySpace and Six Apart will announce that they are joining Google’s OpenSocial initiative. Silicon Alley Insider reported the MySpace rumor earlier today. We’ve confirmed that from an independent source, as well as the fact that Six Apart is joining. Per the update below, Google has also confirmed Bebo is joining.
