MySpace. com has announced its latest alliance with Google Inc, according to which 127 million worldwide users of its online hangout would be able to easily connect with their social circles while they are at other Internet destinations. MySpace already relies on Google to sell some of its ads, so the companies are natural allies.
The team up - announced at the Le Web conference in Paris on Monday - comes as a part of a campaign to extend MySpace's reach, and counter the expansion of Facebook Inc, their common rival. MySpace has made its login system, called 'MySpaceID', compatible with any Web site that wants to embrace it.
The social network has announced its support for the recently-launched Google Friend Connect, and is using the standard to help power a new set of tools called the MySpace Open Platform, which encompasses its OpenSocial-compatible app platform and the Post To MySpace sharing feature.
Max Engel, who oversees MySpaceID, said that by working with a similar service offered by Google, MySpace hopes more sites will welcome its audience. Engel added that blogs and other small sites with limited technical help probably will find it easier to use Google Friend Connect system.
Along with Google Friend Connect, MySpaceID was built with open standards OAuth, OpenSocial, and OpenID.
Presently, members with MySpaceID can log in to partner sites with their MySpace usernames and find which of their MySpace friends use those partner sites. However, in the future, owing to synchronized feed activity MySpace members would be able to register for third-party site accounts with their MySpace URLs.
Latest News
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hail to the thieves
There is already an Open standard for identity on the internet.
OpenID allows users to control their online identity without have any vendor lock on.
You do not need Myspace to use Openid
OpenID works and allows for user control. We do not need any other vendor driven proprietary online identity solutions. In this area it seems that if the solution starts with the name of a company you can be fairly certain it is proprietary and is a one sided relationship that is tilted to the vendor
The Myspace and Facebook ID initiatives are a slap in the face to the Open Principals of the internet.
Any developer and proponent of a truly Open web must take an active roll in pushing for the success of OpenID.
In my view this is an area where one cannot be on the side lines, we have to take an active roll in making sure that members identities and their data are owned by members and not companies that want to lock in with proprietary solutions.
So interesting that a short time ago Microsoft (A closed source company) wanted to push forward a standard (Passport) that would have give users the ability to have one log in that worked for many sites. At the time many in the tech and development community saw this as just another Microsoft Land Grab for our Identity and our Content. Many people saw Passport as a Microsoft effort to finally gain control of the internet by becoming the standard for digital identity.
Today we have no less than 3 closed source companies in a race to become the "Standard" for holding or Identity and therefore having access to the content that we read and the content that we creates.
All of this at a time when there are many Open Source standards that could be used (Openid is just one that comes to mind) that if properly deployed would do the right thing by putting the user/member in charge of their log in as well as their relationships across many sites.
Have we forgotten the lesson of the not so distance past ?
Why do we not see a problem with the big 3 trying to become the proprietary standard in this very important area ?
Why do developers especially Open Source developers continue to build and extend applications for closed source companies that under mind open source standards and ideals ?
Why do users continue to view giving control of their identity and content to these companies as a win, when in fact the win is clearly on the side of the company that you have allowed to take control of your identity and to generate value and revenue from your content. In return for our compliance we do not even have a right to take our identity and our content where we want.