Dear Internet, We Have Diaspora Working
Diaspora is on track to launch the 1st open source version of its social network on 15th September; http://j.mp/bEcrHD
Tagged: APIs RSS
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Gerrit Eicker
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Gerrit Eicker
Sign-ins Via Janrain Engage (RPX)
Janrain Engage (RPX) lets website visitors sign-in with social media accounts, publishes usage stats; http://j.mp/9SQ05E
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Gerrit Eicker
Google Buzz Firehose
Google: We are launching the Google Buzz firehose, our top developer feature request; http://j.mp/cxVHdK
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Gerrit Eicker
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Gerrit Eicker
Skype: “Now, we are taking Skype into new directions by empowering consumer electronic and desktop software innovators to embed Skype into their products through the availability of our new software development kit (SDK) called SkypeKit. … SkypeKit will not only include a robust set of APIs for a variety of popular Skype features, including voice and video calling and instant messaging, it will also deliver Skype’s signature super wideband audio, based on the SILK codec. In addition, developers who use SkypeKit will be able to describe them as plugged into Skype.”
RWW: “Previously, Skype’s API allowed accessories like headsets and webcams to communicate better with Skype, but those applications required Skype to run in the background. With this new SDK, apps can be built that run independently of Skype, much like the popular multi-platform chat clients available today. … It seems likely that Skype will make its SDK available on Web and mobile platforms eventually, since the company’s idea is ‘that every connected device can become a communications device, with the addition of SkypeKit.’ For now, desktop developers and hardware manufacturers have the chance to create some interesting Skype integrations with the new SDK.”
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Gerrit Eicker
WordPress 3.0
The 13th major release of WordPress: 3.0 is available for download, offers new APIs, merge with MU; http://j.mp/dB1fs3
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Gerrit Eicker
WordPress: “Major new features in this release include a sexy new default theme called Twenty Ten. Theme developers have new APIs that allow them to easily implement custom backgrounds, headers, shortlinks, menus (no more file editing), post types, and taxonomies. (Twenty Ten theme shows all of that off.) Developers and network admins will appreciate the long-awaited merge of MU and WordPress, creating the new multi-site functionality which makes it possible to run one blog or ten million from the same installation. As a user, you will love the new lighter interface, the contextual help on every screen, the 1,217 bug fixes and feature enhancements, bulk updates so you can upgrade 15 plugins at once with a single click… We’re going to take a release cycle off to focus on all of the things around WordPress. The growth of the community has been breathtaking, including over 10.3 million downloads of version 2.9, but so much of our effort has been focused on the core software it hasn’t left much time for anything else. Over the next three months we’re going to split into ninja/pirate teams focused on different areas of the around-WordPress experience, including the showcase, Codex, forums, profiles, update and compatibility APIs, theme directory, plugin directory, mailing lists, core plugins, wordcamp.org… the possibilities are endless.”
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Gerrit Eicker
Twitter Places
Twitter goes Places: geolocating tweets, integrating Foursquare and Gowalla, API functionality; http://j.mp/cfmoDX
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Gerrit Eicker
Twitter: “Foursquare and Gowalla integration: Many Foursquare and Gowalla users publish check-ins to Twitter. Location is a key component of these Tweets, so we worked closely with both companies to associate a Twitter Place with Tweets generated by these services. This means that if you click on a Twitter Place, such as ‘Ritual Roasters,’ you will see standard Tweets and check-ins from Foursquare and Gowalla.”
VB: “Twitter just launched Places, the location-sharing feature that the company announced at its Chirp conference in April. – Users could already share their location on Twitter – either their latitude and longitude coordinates or their neighborhoods. But with Places, you can share a specific location, like a coffee shop, a restaurant, or a bar. Then users can search to see all the tweets from that location. They can create new Places, too.”
NYT: “Twitter users who want to share their location click on a link that says ‘add your location’ when they write their post. They can choose from a database of places nearby or add their own.”
RWW: “Twitter has ‘data partnerships’ with TomTom and Localeze in order to make Twitter Locations work. Over the coming week, it is rolling Locations out to 65 countries. It is also working to add Twitter Places to Twitter for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.”
TC: “All of this means huge things for location on Twitter. And the fact that this place data ties in with both Foursquare and Gowalla is excellent. But there still eventually needs to be some sort of unified place database. Maybe Twitter Places will help produce that. At least until Facebook’s location solution comes out and is inevitably incompatible – I kid, I kid. Or do I?“
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Gerrit Eicker
Google Buzz API
Google Buzz gets an API: will be integrated into Seesmic, TweetDeck, and more; http://j.mp/9eimLQ
Gerrit Eicker
Gerrit Eicker
XML vs. APIs
Winer: History has shown that being a hotbed does not scale. Facebook needs XML, not APIs; http://j.mp/bQimZU
Gerrit Eicker
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Gerrit Eicker
pC: “A question for you. When was the last time you surfed the net? Can you remember when you just clicked around looking to discover new sites or a site to occupy your time? Now ask yourself when was the last time you sat on your couch or laid in bed clicking the remote looking for something to watch on TV. Finally, how long do you regularly spend on Facebook? How much time do you spend checking out your Wall, your friends’ Wall and hopping from profile to profile checking people out? … Everything that the net was 5 or more years ago, Facebook is today. … Facebook is putting out trojan horse after trojan horse and no one seems to care. The only thing FB has not done is create a mobile operating system ala Android/iPhone as a platform for applications. … There is no doubt that this is NOT the direction that Facebook wants to go. They want to remain independent. But just as Apple and Google quickly turned from friend to foes, Facebook will soon be the object that both of those companies see in the rearview mirror. I don’t see either Apple or Google as being suitors to buy Facebook. That isnt their style. On the other hand, its straight out of the Microsoft playbook. If you cant beat them or outlast them, buy them.”
TC: “The fact of the matter is that Facebook is one of the most powerful forces on the web and they’re now using that position to introduce a new platform that will yes, help them. Shocking, really. A company that wants to do something that will benefit itself. But I do believe that Facebook, at least in part, believes this will also make the larger web better too. But that’s not going to be good enough for some, because it’s not fully open. Nevermind that plenty of these fully open solutions always being advocated never make it off the ground for one reason or another. … Of course, then publishers don’t have to use Facebook’s Like button. But they will — I can think of nearly 500 million reasons why. Love it or hate it, that’s the way it is. It’s not good versus evil. It’s not black versus white. It’s a million shades of gray, as always.”
VB: “Concerns are already rising among users around overly sharing of personal information. ComputerWorld’s IT Blogwatch bloggers spotlight several concerjs, including the automatic opt-in to share your information when visiting websites through Facebooks new open graph feature.”
TNW: “There has been a lot of chatter, since Facebook’s F8 announcements, about how the company will be the downfall of Google. Or, in some cases, the chatter is about how it will push Google to do what it does in a different manner. … Face it, you wouldn’t dream of doing investigation for a research project using Facebook search. That is of course, unless that research were more appropriate to what Facebook does. … The question that arises, though (especially given the power behind the social graph API), is how long this situation will remain as it is. Will Google eventually have to step up its game directly to combat Facebook? It’s possible. Not likely, but possible.”
RWW: “Facebook Open Graph: The Definitive Guide For Publishers, Users and Competitors. … The bits of this platform bring together the visions of a social, personalized and semantic Web that have been discussed since del.icio.us pioneered Web 2.0 back in 2004. Facebook’s vision is both minimalistic and encompassing – but its ambition is to kill off its competition and use 500 million users to take over entire Web. – Whether we like it (pun intended) or not, we have to understand what this move means. … With this release, Facebook asks users if they are willing to trade off privacy for personalization. To be clear, no personalization is ever possible without users telling a system about their tastes. What Facebook is asking for is necessary in order to then create personalized Web experience. Whether users want this sort of thing is a different question, but assuming that you want to know more about your friends you will. … So any site that already has social networking built in has to decide to abandon that before jumping into the Facebook Open Graph. The even worse problem is the ownership of ratings and comments. Are publishers really ready to give that up? … This is aggressive and brilliant move by Facebook – and Twitter, Google, Yahoo, MySpace, AOL, eBay, Amazon and others, except for Microsoft, should be really worried. … Technically speaking, what Facebook has done is elegant and correct. From markup, to plugins, to API, all of it is modern and awesome. The missing bit is that Facebook appears to be the only repository of data in this equation – and that makes the whole offering seriously closed. … One of the most exciting parts of the Facebook announcement to me personally is the possible breakthrough in semanticizing the Web. … Facebook made a major chess move. It might have checkmated its competitors, or perhaps it might have to lose another piece like it lost Beacon. Whichever is the case, right now there are deep implications for Facebook and its competitors, publishers, users and the Web at large. What Facebook has announced cannot be ignored and can not be undone. Everyone needs to figure out the next steps and understand what to do.“
Gerrit Eicker 08:10 on 17. August 2010 Permalink |
Janrain: “How people prefer to sign-in to sites on the Web: 38% Google, 24% Facebook, 14% Yahoo, 5% Twitter, 5% Windows Live, 14% Other. … Overall relative popularity of each network has held steady during the past quarter. Google remains the most preferred network with nearly 40% share. Facebook continues to be a popular option, and Yahoo!’s share has grown slightly since April, with 14% preferring a Yahoo! account to sign-in. While Twitter’s popularity in the social web ecosystem continues to rise, it still remains the 4th most popular network for sign-in across our customers’ websites. … The story is different with media companies. On news media sites, Yahoo! is the leading choice for sign-in with 34% share. As a content-focused network, Yahoo! users proactively seek out news and timely content across the web, making it no surprise that the network performs well in this industry segment. Facebook and Google also maintain strong presences on news media sites. … For magazine publishers, Facebook comprises 57% share of all logins. Many magazine publishers focus on lifestyle and interests, a natural pairing with Facebook users who like to share their interests with friends. … A look across Europe shows that Facebook is the most popular network for sign-in, followed by Google and Twitter: 39% Facebook, 26% Google, 12% Twitter, 8% Windows Live, 7% Yahoo, 6% Hyves, 2% Other. … Preferred social networks for sharing: 53% Facebook, 37% Twitter, 8% Yahoo, 7% MySpace.“