MySpace

MySpace Intros Developer Platform
Techtree News Staff
Software developers across the globe now have a chance to integrate their developments into MySpace with the launch of a new developer platform.

MySpace has premiered the Developer Platform Site, created as a "sandbox", in which software wizards worldwide can craft mini-applications, called widgets, for MySpace member profile pages.
The site (http://developer.myspace.com) has open standards for building, testing, and deploying mini-applications called widgets for MySpace.

According to Chris DeWolfe, chief executive officer and co-founder of MySpace, "The future of the global social Web will leverage the creativity of the masses to produce meaningful and diverse social experiences, pushing the industry to be more innovative and progressive."

The new Developer Platform Site includes three sets of APIs: OpenSocial with MySpace extensions to enable javascript and html; action scripts to allow Flash to speak directly to the APIs; and REST to enable server-to-server communication (speeding-up applications).

The developer site will also host a developer team Blog where developers can discuss product updates, platform news, insights and commentary, and interact with the MySpace Developer Team. The Blog url is: http://developer.myspace.com/Community/blogs/devteam/default.aspx.

For a one-month application development period, applications developed will not be visible to the MySpace community so as to enable developers to install, iterate, and test the security of their applications in a live environment.

The developer's platform will be rolled out to users in March. The new applications will be available in an application gallery, and MySpace members will be able to add these applications to both their personal user home and profile pages.

On the security front, Aber Whitcomb, chief technology officer of MySpace, claimed, "Applications will be governed by the same privacy controls that are in place for members. An application will never have access to information that cannot be found on any member's profile page."

Interestingly, MySpace has followed in the footsteps of Facebook in offering a developer platform site. Early last year, Facebook opened its platform for developers to make mini-applications for its members.
Incidentally, those applications have proved a boon for Facebook, in turn making it more popular than ever before. But it still ranks second after MySpace.
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