The OpenSocial API is a set of common APIs for building social applications on many websites. There are two ways to access the OpenSocial API: client-side using the JavaScript API, and server-side using REST or RPC protocols.

JavaScript API

The JavaScript API lives under the opensocial.* namespace and provides access to three primary areas of functionality:

* People — information about individual people and their relationships to each other
* Activities — ability to post and view updates on what people are doing
* Persistence — a simple key-value data store to allow server-free stateful applications

Here are some of the things you can do with the JavaScript API:

* Build applications without maintaining your own server
* Build applications that include a server-side component (for offline processing and/or access from other websites)
* Create brand-new applications
* Expose existing web applications in the context of existing social websites
* Add social features to existing gadgets
* Write one application that can run in the context of many different social websites

The JavaScript API is designed to use standard web technologies:

* It’s packaged as a set of methods in the opensocial.* namespace.
* It allows you to use any standard JavaScript programming techniques and third-party libraries.
* It includes a full asynchronous callback system to support rich AJAX interactivity.

REST Protocol and RPC Protocol

The REST protocol and RPC protocol provide complementary functionality to the JavaScript API, so you can access people, activities, and data from your server.

The REST and RPC protocols are designed to use standard web technologies:

* Server interactions are based on the JSON-RPC protocol, the AtomPub protocol, or plain XML.
* Authentication is handled by OAuth.

Impact on Facebook:

Developing OpenSocial applications will be easier than creating Facebook apps and will work across different social networks.

Benefit for Google:

OpenSocial is part of Google’s quest to increase usage of the Web. More applications can mean more searches and ad searches. You could also expect some new advertising services based on tapping into the OpenSocial APIs that works across all compliant social networks.

Users and Developers:

For users, it means more applications that can tap into user data, social graph, feeds and other content on a variety of social networks. They will have more choice of social networks.

For developers, they have more opportunity to spread their work across different networks without significant cost and complexity.

It is interesting that this is not a social network but a compatibility layer across networks.

The Google OpenSocial APIs will cover many of the essential social networking functions: Profile Information (user data), Friends Information (social graph), and Activities (things that happen). On the social network side they will be joined by sites supporting the API including Salesforce, Friendster, hi5, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Newsgator and Ning (with Google’s own Orkut included as well). On the application developer side they will be joined by some of the leading Facebook developers including Flikster, Rock You, Slide, and iLike.

Here is the complete list on who is using Google’s OpenSocial API.

Complete list of social networks and application developers using Google’s OpenSocial API

Sources:

http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/docs/

http://blog.programmableweb.com/2007/10/31/google-opensocial/

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=6813

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/technology/31google.html?ex=1351483200&en=ffeaa22f4e2aa416&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink&pagewanted=all (Google and Friends to Gang Up on Facebook )

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