OpenSocial is a open social network platform by Google. it aims to open up applications in social networks to be compatible to all social networks partnering with Google in OpenSocial. OpenSocial no longer locks what an application can do in a social network, but it will also bring in data from other social networks.
OpenSocial consists of a few APIs that allow developers to access to information on social networks (Profile information, Friends information, activities).
OpenSocial is different from FaceBook platform as it is flexible compared to FaceBook platform. Unlike FaceBook, applications using OpenSocial will be written with javascript and html with Flash elements. This ensures applications will have minimal cost to be compatible with each other social networks. In other words, OpenSocial is a de facto standard in creating applications to run in the varieties of social networks.
Applications can have full functionality on profile and/or canvas pages, subject to the specific rules of each host. Facebook, by contrast, limits most functionality to the canvas page, allowing a widget on the profile page with limited features.
OpenSocial is divided into two categories, namely the host and the developer.
MySpace, Bebo, SixApart, Orkut, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Ning, Hi5, Plaxo, Friendster, Viadeo and Oracle are confirmed hosts of OpenSocial while Flixster, iLike, RockYou and Slide are the developers to name a few.
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