Is the MySpace Developer Platform Good News For MySpacers?

In May 2007, Facebook announced it was opening its platform to developers. This resulted in the creation of over 15,000 applications that interact with Facebook’s core features.

Nine months later, MySpace is ready to do the same. This may come as a surprise since MySpace used to be more than reluctant to open up to third party widgets, going as far as blocking links to video-sharing site YouTube and opting to create its own rival service, MySpace TV.

In July, Marshal Kirkpatrick of TechCrunch wrote:

MySpace has taken a step to increase security that disables a key method for third party vendors to spread their services inside the online social network. ¹

And in September 2006:

While competitor Facebook won accolades for opening an API to outside developers, it’s understood that there is probably zero chance of such openness from MySpace. ²

Things have changed since then, but is it really good news for MySpace and its users? While some feel the Facebook Platform helped make both Facebook and the companies developing the applications more popular, Kirkpatrick thinks the rise of Facebook came in spite of it. According to him, its the “newsfeed, clean site and well designed user experience” ³ that distinguishes Facebook from its rival. He adds: “by this time next year you’ll be getting spam from MySpace applications and be running to shut off your account altogether”. ⁴

I tend to agree with Kirkpatrick and I’m certainly hoping application fatigue will kick in soon on Facebook. But while there are quite a few Facebook groups petitioning against useless and spam-filled applications, compete.com’s Facebook Activity Breakdown seems to tell another story. In August 2007, 14 million unique visitors (of the 26+ million unique visitors for that month) interacted with applications that captured more time per session than any other activity on the site. ⁵ So the MySpace Platform may be good news for MySpace, the application developers and around half of MySpacers… for a while, at least.

We will have more info on how MySpacers welcome the applications when they start adding them to their profile pages. As for developers, they can sign up at http://developer.myspace.com and will be able to build applications using Google’s OpenSocial.

1. 1. Kirkpatrick, Marshall. MySpace security measure disables viral spread of widgets, TechCrunch, July 20 2006, Retrieved on February 3 2008.
2. 2. Kirkpatrick, Marshall. MySpace: We Don’t Need Web 2.0, TechCrunch, September 12 2006, Retrieved on February 3 2008.
3. 3. Kirkpatrick, Marshall. We’re Doomed: MySpace App Platform Coming Soon, ReadWriteWeb, October 9 2007, Retrieved on February 3 2008.
4. 4. Ibid.
5. 5. Freiert, Max. 14 million people interacted with Facebook Applications in August, Compete.com, September 14 2007, Retrieved on February 4 2008.