How to explain OpenSocial to Your Executives
by Jeremiah Owyang
After Google’s announcement of OpenSocial—”OpenSocial provides a common set of APIs [application programming interfaces] for social applications across multiple Websites”—many people are talking about it at the developer, strategist, and marketing level. I’m going to take it up for another audience—your boss. Feel free to repurpose this content any way you want.
You: A Web Decision-Maker
As a Web strategist, you are someone who is partially or wholly responsible for the long-term direction of your Web site, or the Web site of your clients. If you have to explain the announcement to your boss (or you are the boss), I’m going to help.
Terms
- Social network: An network or community where people of similar interest share. MySpace, LinkedIn, and Hi5 are examples.
- Mini-application, app, widget: These applications, created by third-party developers or your company, can “sit” on top of or alongside those thriving communities of connected people.
- Platform, container, social network: Where the mini-applications can reside and interact.
- API: The common code shared among platforms and developers of mini-applications.