Two Microsoft-related announcements coming from social networking giant MySpace today: the portal is adding support for Windows Mobile-run phones to its new mobile application, due this summer, and bringing the Silverlight runtime to its developer program thanks to a jointly developed Open Source kit.
The upcoming application will be created by MySpace in conjunction with Microsoft developers, and optimize the user experience for owners of devices running the latest version of Windows Mobile (6.1, which was introduced in April 2008). The company says it currently has 20 million mobile users and is focused on developing applications for all platforms, including the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm, Nokia, etc. As MobileCrunch reported earlier this year, MySpace anticipates 50% of their total traffic to come from mobiles within the next few years, which is why it has recently launched a redesigned mobile website as well (see MC post for details).
All basic functionalities for social interaction with MySpace friends are said to be included in the application (also see screenshots below), but more specific details are bound to emerge sooner or later. The app is supposed to pop up in Windows Marketplace for Mobile early fall 2009, and LG will be pre-loading the utility on its future WiMo devices (slated for shipping in the second half of 2009).
More significant in my opinion is the announcement regarding Silverlight, Redmond’s answer to Adobe’s Flash / Flex rich internet application development platform. MySpace is going to include the Silverlight runtime in its Open Platform and offer a jointly built SDK, leveraging the JavaScript OpenSocial container used by most of the applications that run on the social networking service. Coincidentally, OpenSocial was created by MySpace in conjunction with Google, and both companies have a representative on OpenSocial Foundation’s Board.
Silverlight developers now have the ability to build OpenSocial applications on MySpace’s Open Platform and make the user experience for its members a little richer.
MySpace and Microsoft will be presenting a joint session at the Web 2.0 Expo on Silverlight on the MySpace Open Platform, which will take place on Thursday, April 2nd at 1:30pm PST.
Hasn’t MySpace been a Microsoft shop in terms of technology platform all along?
Myspace and Microsoft are like brothers if you think in terms of how uncool, badly unorganised and doomed to constantly fail they are.
Makes sense that MySpace users probably use windows
LOL, doomed to fail? O rly, let’s look at the numbers. MySpace makes ~$1B per year, and Microsoft has $35B in the bank. If that is doomed to fail, I guess I can forget about my startup.
I know right? Lets see, take my startups revenue as a percent of 1,000,000,000. Oh crap.
lol Exactly. They may be disorganized and crappy, but they sure know how to make money. Facebook will never make more money than MySpace by virtue of how people use them.
@”Gary Glitter : Makes sense that MySpace users probably use windows” !!!!
well, now what do make sense that all of the internet users and organizations in the world probably use MS Windows?!
please a little down your sound and rise your mind. if there is.
Doesn’t Myspace Already Have An App For The iPhone?
I Think I May Have It On My Touch, But Never Use It.
Cause Myspace sucks. I Signed in yesterday, and I’m still waiting for all the Ads to load.
That was good one
)
I have 75 friends on Facebook and NONE of them have MySpace profile. I closed my few weeks ago.
Does 10 million + 10 million equal a homerun?
Both Mobile and Myspace represent the view that volumes of code matter. Piles of cr*p heaped on top of more piles just create an even bigger manure pile.
I’d suggest both are better off to start from scratch, like iPhone and Twitter – or the upcoming Palm Pre.
a match made in heaven since they already use microsoft technology
Eh…anything that leverages off MS tech is something i’m wary of instantly. Habit.
Why? Software technologies really just serve as tools to accomplish a task. It’s elitism like this that really gets me.
- Not from India
“- Not from India” = “Just living there”
I just luv Microsoft products. Have been consistently using Visual Studio, SQL, Windows OS even Windows 7. Apart from some minor issues my experience with MS has been quite good. After all more than 80% of users worldwide are on Windows. Majority of corporates are on MS Windows/Vista. I hope this association may bring about some cheers for ailing MySpace
Wow, that just sounded like a Steve Ballmer interview.
Wow, I never knew such views existed…
TechFilipino
Interesting article and from the photos. MySpace and Facebook interface are identical.
I don’t and will never use MySpace, hence I already have facebook.
Interesting one!.My space is pretty slow.
Check my profile at
http://www.link...m/jmathews.aspx
MySpace makes 1 billion in revenue? Um, link? Pretty sure that’s the revenue number for all of Fox Interactive – and they never actually hit that as a combined entity. Once Google pulls out, it won’t even be close to half of that.
http://blogs.zd...com/BTL/?p=5899
you are right it was 800 million for 2008 in revenue. 1 billion is what it will make in 2009.
http://www.tech...his-murphy-bed/ more on that revenue. it surely will hit the 1 billion in revenue and 100-150 million of gross profit. i think that is very good compared to facebook that will reach 400-450 million in revenue but the year will cost them 500 million or around 1.5 million dollars A DAY to operate facebook. insane considering that means it will cost about double of what it costs to run Xbox Live
excellent for the users of Myspace.
I have a myspace app now for my blackberry but it’s horrible.
Will the new myspace app actually work?
If Microsoft’s having a huge part in both MySpace and Facebook, aren’t they winning the war with Google?
TechFilipino