Curiouser and Curiouser

On Thursday Google announced that their new service called OpenSocial is live and they believe it is a step forward in making the Internet much more social.

So let’s forget, for a moment, the ridiculous presenter on the video of the (slightly creepy) Google Campfire (where Google announced OpenSocial), who was disturbingly reminiscent of every infomercial I have ever seen. Developers who were frustrated about Facebook’s exclusive API (the code that applications are built on) must be pretty excited about this development, since what OpenSocial does is standardize an API for any website that wants to add the service. Therefore, developers can develop one application that can work on a variety of different sites.

Initially, this seems to be great news for everyone except Facebook, but, as with any new development, one needs to take a step back and analyze the situation more thoroughly. In reading a couple of articles on this news and the extensive  comments on them (TechCrunch’s coverage here, Mashable’s post on the announcement and it’s extensive coverage before that on the Related Articles list here, TechCrunch’s Erick Schonfeld on Facebook’s possible reactions here) it appears that many people are skeptical that Google really has what it takes to succeed in the social networking arena. Although it has Orkut, the network is really only popular in Brazil, and Google’s strength is in search and text ads. Can it really compete with Facebook? On the other hand, a great many networks have already signed up for OpenSocial, including MySpace, Bebo, Ning, LinkedIn, Hi5 and others, and many are speculating that Facebook itself might do well to join in too (although rumor has it that Google hasn’t invited Facebook to join. Drama!). Some have questioned the real monetary value of this service to Google. Others still criticized OpenSocial as nothing more than “glorified widgets”, without a variety of features available for applications that use Facebook’s API, not the least of which is the ability to monetize its use.

And, to put public opinion in a numerical perspective, Mashable’s Daily Poll says that 33% of voters believe that OpenSocial ” Adds functionality, but users stick with their current social networks” and 31% that “Open Social API becomes the new standard for developers”.

There is still a lot to read and learn about Google’s newest project, and undoubtedly the service itself still has some ways to go in terms of development, but I think that anything that brings some competition into the market is a good thing, right? And in terms of scrambling onto the OpenSocial bandwagon, I think that companies’ and marketers’ best bet is to discuss the opportunities that OpenSocial could bring, but hold back for a while. There is still a lot to come.

Finally, for an interesting and useful breakdown of what OpenSocial means for business executives, including advice on next steps (like waiting and watching, but planning) check out Jeremiah Owyang’s post.

What are your thoughts?