MySpace Developer Platform Launches
February 5, 2008
The much anticipated MySpace Developer Platform has officially opened up, allowing third party developers to create custom applications for the most popular social network much like Facebook’s Platform has permitted since last May.
While many social networks have been launching development platforms in recent months, this launch will be considered especially important to many developers. On top of MySpace being the most popular social network, the site has also launched to all developers at the same time. Other social networks — such as Facebook and Bebo — first provided access to their platforms to the likes of Slide, RockYou, and similar development companies, giving them what many consider to have been an unfair advantage in the playing field.
Although developers can begin creating and testing applications, MySpace’s user base does not yet have access to applications. Once the platform publicly launches next month, all published applications will become accessible to MySpace users.
According to the official MySpace Developer Platform documentation, here’s how the company defines an application and summarizes how it all works.
A MySpace Application is any software the utilizes the MySpace Developer Platform (MDP) to access user data, perform actions, and to integrate this data and associated actions into MySpace pages. MDP supports the development of applications based on the OpenSocial model of acces to data and functionality on participating networks.
The documentation explains that there are six parts to a MySpace application.
- Application Profile: the page where members come to learn about and install your application.
(Facebook Equivalent: About Page) - Application Canvas: a new page on MySpace that is dedicated to applications.
(Facebook Equivalent: Canvas Page) - Apps Module: provides links to the Application Profiles of the apps members have installed.
(Facebook Equivalient: Left Navigation Bar) - Applications Manager: allows users to view installed apps, change application settings, and uninstall applications.
(Facebook Equivalient: Application Privacy Page) - Profile Modules: display information, content and functionality generated by your application directly on a member’s profile.
(Facebook Equivalent: Profile Box) - Homepage Modules: display information, content, and fuctionality generated by your application directly on the left-hand column (300px) of a members’s homepage.
(Facebook Equivalent: Profile Box*)
Application monetization sounds very promising according to Mashable.
In terms of monetization, the revenue share hinted at last week won’t be available initially. Instead, developers will be able to control 100% of ads on their “canvas page,” where most of the main functions of applications will live. In the future, developers will be able to utilize the same tools currently being beta tested by MySpace, which allow advertisers to place “hyper targeted ads” based on user’s profile characteristics.
MySpace has had many significant improvements to its site recently. It will be interesting to see how applications affect the popular social network in addition to observing how its users react.
* The MySpace Profile Module is only viewable to the profile owner. While Facebook does not have specific regions that are exclusively accessible to profile owners, third party developers can utilize the fb:visible-to-owner FBML tag within a Profile Box to display content only to the profile owner.
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