If you recall, open social was launched late 2007 to allow for a common API to be used across multiple sites. According to google, “A common API means you have less to learn to build for multiple websites.” So is “open social” actually cathing on among the most popular social networks? The answer is a resounding yes. The graph below came from techcrunch and shows that “open social” currently has around 350 million users and is still growing steadily.
Currently “open social” is working with Myspace, Orkut, Hi5, Friendster. Apparently 4 more social networks are slated to join open social to bring the estimated user count at around 500 million. Dan Farber over at Cnet wrote an excellent article about open social including the details of the various updates and the announcement that google is proposing to create an “open social foundation.”
As Dan Farber puts it “open social makes good economic sense,” and I agree with him. It’s very exciting to see how “open social” continues to grow and we do know what facebook is not going to be joining the “movement,” at least not yet anyway.
What do you think about the enormous growth of “open social”?
Social Networks are only going to grow and grow. It’s all about building communities these days.