Business Week has a long article expanding on the Google Social Nework Platform story we wrote about last month.
Key facts from the article: Orkut is 1/4 the size of MySpace (Comscore shows a much closer race), but they’ve recently taken the lead in the Asia/Pacific region. Orkut is also very strong in Latin America, with double the traffic of MySpace and Facebook combined.
Business Week also confirms our estimated November 5 launch date for a new set of APIs which let developers build applications that span a number of Google services. We heard the from sources here in Silicon Valley; their sources are third-party developers based in India.
Google plans to open up Orkut as a Platform, with fewer restrictions than Facebook. As an example, they say, application developers may be able to host applications on their own servers (Facebook does not permit this). Other Google services will be made available as well “If the plan succeeds, users might begin to see applications combining Orkut with Google Maps that would show where friends are located.”
And the article is also confirming that Google is thinking beyond their own properties, too. “For example, an Orkut widget for Facebook might enable Facebook users to see whether their Orkut friends are online through their Facebook pages.”
I have heard that all orkut development is done in India now. Is that true ?
I think that in less than a year Orkut will be nipping at the heels of Facebook (or will have surpassed Facebook) in terms of total number of users and user created applications.
The key will be the large and growing user base in Asia.
Interesting little fact: Orkut means “orgasms” in Finnish.
Community sites are popping up everywhere, the question is for the future: on how many sites will a person be really active?
There is Myspace, FB, Friendster, Hi5 etc… unless you are unemployed and have nothing else to do, I dont think anybody will be seriously active on all sites and trying out new sites.
You have to offer something really different and exciting to draw new crowds.
You can see user location via Google map in Orkut.
Mike,
So does this mean that we are going to have to switch gears and teach our students how build “Google apps” instead of Facebook apps???
Something about it just isn’t as sexy.
(I’m Dan, the head CA for the Stanford Facebook class
Dan Ackerman Greenberg
Stanford University ‘08
http://www.acke...angreenberg.com
Dan – what I honestly think is that someone is going to make a boatload of money figuring out how to help developers cope with API overload.
@The Real Arrignton
Microsoft has already figured it out. http://www.popfly.ms, lets you create mashups using api’s without the hassles…
Well, we’re spending the next two months developing a way to think about building viral and engaging Facebook apps, but hopefully we’ll be able to step back and apply the same framework to any open platform, whether it be FB, Google, LinkedIn, MySpace….
I think the key is helping developers understand how to build engaging user experiences *specific to each platform*, then letting them choose which platform best suits their individual goals.
- Dan
I think Michael got a pretty good idea: there is room for a kind of meta distribution platform for social network.
Write once, deploy everywhere.
With a layer (think of yahoo pipes style) hidding the complexity of translating your app to FB, MySpace, Orkut APIs, everybody will use it don’t you think?
social networks are just good enough for spamming these days. I have recently written an anecdote of my friends experience with Hi5 – Social networking or spamming.
http://www.seci...ng-or-spamming/
For those asking for a ‘meta’ api. They’re already several some quite mature.
http://www.clearspring.com
and
http://dev.netvibes.com/
and
a couple others I don’t directly remember off the top of my head.
Clear spring is the clear leader in this category not only do u get clear distribution and api aggregation abilities u get really nice metrics to see where your app is going and how its being used.
This is an interesting statement from Google:
“For example, an Orkut widget for Facebook might enable Facebook users to see whether their Orkut friends are online through their Facebook pages.”
So, soon we will have the clash of social network sites, trying to eat on each other’s turf…
Will be interesting to watch how they will respond — will they ban competing apps from other social network sites or not?
google has never really succeeded with implementing social sites for the north american audience.
gmail, greader, gtalk, etc could be considered social sites. but they are unable to foster a community because google’s culture is so different from culture outside google.
For those asking for a ‘meta’ api. They’re already several some quite mature.
http://www.clearspring.com
and
http://dev.netvibes.com/
and
a couple others I don’t directly remember off the top of my head.
Clear spring is the clear leader in this category not only do u get clear distribution and api aggregation abilities u get really nice metrics to see where your app is going and how its being used.
“…to see applications combining Orkut with Google Maps that would show where friends are located…”
Something along those lines…
http://www.orkut.com/map.aspx
>>Application developers may be able to host applications on their own >>servers (Facebook does not permit this).
…this doesn’t sound right. I thought Facebook apps are all externally hosted and not hosed at/by Facebook. Are you saying that when I access an app (say Zoho) through Facebook, the app is hosted on Facebook servers. I don’t believe this is the case.
Anyone remember when Myspace blocked the ability for users to embed Photobucket? Or was that me dreaming about a world where APIs will allow social networks to embed each others apps? Sorry, suffering from the reality distortion field today.
I find it interesting that different social networks succeed better in different countries, but wouldn’t put it down to any particular reason other than historical development of an almost accidental nature. Once the network of friends reaches a critical mass, as with Facebook in the UK for example, it’s difficult to imagine mass migration to another platform unless something goes seriously wrong with the network where people are already connected.
@pran
you are correct it’s not right. Facebook apps are for the most part hosted on your OWN servers facebook does very little of the hosting for you outside of serving up its own data into and from your app.
Talk abt convergence
Haha, re: 17, 18:
I love that the fact that “developers can host on their own sites” is not only a facet of this piece, but an important factor, despite the fact that the author is totally wrong. App developers can host apps off of Facebook.
It’s crazy to me that MSM criticizes bloggers when, frequently, the central point of a piece is totally off the mark.
Mike A. says “Dan – what I honestly think is that someone is going to make a boatload of money figuring out how to help developers cope with API overload.”
I think this is where the Clearsprings, Springwidgets, yourminis etc are going. Mutating from widget platforms to social network distribution platforms.
Heh, there’s a good thought. Must go blog it.
Orkut is probably the least attractive social network to use.
Don is right. Google may be the king of search but it will never be the social engine of the Internet. I firmly believe that this is where Facebook will score. Orkut is popular in POOR countries like the third world countries of South Asia. However in the Greatest country in the world and i8n the sophisticated developed white world Facebook is ahead.
Can you imagine in a couple years when Facebook has 200 million users worldwide, with half of them logging in every day, and a 25 year old will be CEO of this company? I can’t think of a parallel in world history where someone as young as me had this much influence. Oh wait. Alexander the Great. I want Facebook to be the social operating system of the web. That is something Google isn’t and is never going to be. At this point, nobody is closer to that vision than Facebook. Facebook will be the next Google trust me. In San Francisco my aim of having the developers conference was to unleash a tidal wave of masterful PR spin on what Facebook is–the future–and on what Facebook is not – MySpace. It is a hundred times better than that. So shove it Murdoch! We comfortably passed eBay in traffic and we’re working on passing Google, too in a few months time.
What is Orkut anyway? Actually come to think of it Facebook IS already another Google, in fact, seeking to control, for-its own greedy profit motives, all the world’s personal information.
Orkut is by far better than Facebook.
Who uses both of them knows what I’m talking about
a better way to locate friends if orkut combined with maps, a easy way to catch them when they are online
http://vidsonly.blogspot.com
Hey Mike,
Thanks for giving us more info about this. First off you said:
“And the article is also confirming that Google is thinking beyond their own properties, too. “For example, an Orkut widget for Facebook might enable Facebook users to see whether their Orkut friends are online through their Facebook pages.” ”
There already is an Orkut widget for Facebook, although (currently) it only shows you information on when you received scrapbooks from your friends. Think of it like Social Stream, except Facebook style.
I think I have an idea on how Google is going to challenge Facebook in the states (as it is growing by leaps and bounds in Asia, South America and the Middle East) although I’ll post it over on my blog as I do not know if comment entries here have text limits to them.
~Darnell
I just read most of the business week article. They already made an error on page 2.
“If the plan succeeds, users might begin to see applications combining Orkut with Google Maps that would show where friends are located.”
Google already built this feature within Orkut a long time ago.
http://www.insi...ew-feature.html
And people wonder why I prefer bloggers?
Google headed for another cliff!
The social stuff is just a fad, not real, a temporary thing!
http://fakestev...er.blogspot.com
There is already an orkut app on facebook developed by an Indian! read about it here -> http://www.watb...n-techie-creat/
See friends on Google maps? :-s Is that even ‘announcement worthy’ ?
And Rajiv Dingra, thats cheap self promotion. If you atleast said “I have developed..”, would have been slightly better.
The author has not even got the demographics right..Orkut is popular in Brazil, India and ‘Pakistan’…Not Bangladesh!
Obviously the post below is not Mark Z from Facebook
………………but putting that aside I think the attitude is interesting ….USA is the “greatest” country – says who? – ask a poor person in the USA – a person with chronic ill health – a civilian in the Middle East.
Orkut and Hi5 and others are going to grow because most of the world does not speak English and does not particularly like the USA (I do but then I am a a white affluent male – a minority group!)
Cheers Simon
http://www.anycircle.com or qwertytrewq.com
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# Mark Zuckerberg
October 9th, 2007 at 7:46 am
Don is right. Google may be the king of search but it will never be the social engine of the Internet. I firmly believe that this is where Facebook will score. Orkut is popular in POOR countries like the third world countries of South Asia. However in the Greatest country in the world and i8n the sophisticated developed white world Facebook is ahead.
QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ
no matter how biga company u r, no matter how much money u got u still need to stoop so low to lick the feet of others who have great ideas.y should google copy face book
Facebook apps can be hosted externally via the iframe method. In fact you can make a Facebook app which can be used without even visiting the main Facebook site (including desktop apps).
I have no idea where Kharif got this idea that Facebook apps can only be hosted on Facebook servers but shame on you for not knowing better!