The Praized Blog

Following this blog post yesterday about my speculation that Google is building a mobile development platform, the whole blogosphere announced this morning that Google is leading an initiative called OpenSocial that will see the launch an open social web API. This new API will allow social networks and application developers to work together using a set of standardized instructions. Partners currently include Google’s Orkut, LinkedIn, Hi5, Friendster, Salesforce.com, Oracle, iLike, Flixster, RockYou, and Slide.

Flickr photo by magerleagues.

As Marc Andreessen said this morning on his blog,

This is the exact same concept as the Facebook platform, with two huge differences:

• With the Facebook platform, only Facebook itself can be a “container” — “apps” can only run within Facebook itself. In contrast, with Open Social, any social network can be an Open Social container and allow Open Social apps to run within it.
• With the Facebook platform, app developers build to Facebook-proprietary languages and APIs such as FBML (Facebook Markup Language) and FQL (Facebook Query Language) — those languages and APIs don’t work anywhere other than Facebook — and then the apps can only run within Facebook. In contrast, with Open Social, app developers can build to standard HTML and Javascript, and their apps can then run in any Open Social container.

TechCrunch explains in more details:

OpenSocial is a set of three common APIs, defined by Google with input from partners, that allow developers to access core functions and information at social networks:

• Profile Information (user data)
• Friends Information (social graph)
• Activities (things that happen, News Feed type stuff)

Hosts agree to accept the API calls and return appropriate data. Google won’t try to provide universal API coverage for special use cases, instead focusing on the most common uses. Specialized functions/data can be accessed from the hosts directly via their own APIs.

What it means: this is a major announcement, maybe the biggest announcement of the year. Standardizing the social web will go a long way towards the explosion of social as a key element of the Web operating system and one more step towards the web becoming a gigantic word of mouth machine. You’ll want to embrace these standards.

Update: According to AlleyInsider, MySpace will announce today that they join the OpenSocial “alliance”

Update2: Techcrunch reports that blog software publisher SixApart is also joining. Bebo also.

The Wall Street Journal reports (via ZDNet) on Google’s efforts to disrupt the wireless industry.

Of note:

“Within the next two weeks, Google is expected to announce advanced software and services that would allow handset makers to bring Google-powered phones to market by the middle of next year, people familiar with the situation say.” (…)

“The Google-powered phones are expected to wrap together several Google applications — among them, its search engine, Google Maps, YouTube and Gmail email — that have already made their way onto some mobile devices.” (…)

“Developers could, for instance, more easily create services that take advantage of users’ Global Positioning System location, contact lists and Web-browsing habits. They also would be able to interact with Google Maps and other Google applications. The idea is that a range of new social networking, mapping and other services would emerge, just as they have on the open, mostly unfettered Web. Google, meanwhile, could gather user data to show targeted ads to cellphone users.” (…)

In related news, it looks like Google is the first choice among wireless developers for developing location-enhanced application.

In another related news, YellowPages.com (owned by AT&T) announced the release of a version of their site for the iPhone. According to iLounge, “the new web app can be used by visiting yellowpages.com on an iPhone or iPod touch”

What it means: if I read between the lines, I think Google is trying to get the better of Facebook via their mobile strategy. Google is clearly designing a mobile development platform that will include basic Google applications like search, video, maps and e-mail. Developers will be able to build additional features and functionalities on top of these building blocks (like Facebook apps). Combined with the GPS-enabled phones, you will truly be able to create local social networks.

My friend Eric just sent me an IM to warn me that Google has now launched their coupon search functionality in Google Maps (via Mike Blumenthal’s blog). Some examples:

• restaurant in Buffalo, New York
• all coupons in San Francisco, CA
• all coupons in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The search function is still buried but this might be the prelude of better exposure for that specific Google product. The Inside Google blog had recently discovered a bunch of coupon-related domain names registered to Google’s name.

What it means: coupons are a great way to track the efficiency of a local ad product as it brings clear traceability to the whole purchase process. Given their strong desire to track advertising ROI, I’m not surprised Google is interested in promoting this feature.

Today, Engadget (reporting on a Wall Street Journal article) discusses a recent Nintendo strategy presentation:

“… the WSJ is reporting on a recent and unusual high level, high impact strategy presentation where in top ‘Tendo execs revealed what’s described as a change in its current business model: using its foothold in the video game market to sell casual gamers and non-gamers products focused more on utilitarian functions. (…) What they want to sell Nintendo wouldn’t specifically say, but they’re focusing first on the flagship portable, the DS, rolling out what the WSJ describes as “features [that] will be useful in places like train stations, amusement parks or museums and [that] could be accessed wirelessly,” as well as a new “television-programming feature for the Japanese market… to check television listings, run searches by keyword and genre, and highlight each family member’s favorite programs.”"

Qype Mobile on the Nintendo DS, Flickr photo by Moe.

What it means: the Nintendo DS currently has an installed base of 53 million units worldwide. It’s Wi-Fi-enabled and there’s a version of the Opera browser available for sale (you need to buy a “game” cartridge to use it though). It makes sense that Nintendo is looking at “utilitarian” functions for the DS and location-based services are top of the list for mobile devices. Not a short term opportunity but monitor for future improvements. Pre-loading of the browser would create a killer app.

“I think were going to end up with an interplanetary backbone over the next 20, 30, 40 years…”. We’ll have “data coming back from space, which we’ll help to organize just like we organize (everything else).”

Vint Cerf, Google’s Internet Evangelist, during a talk at Google’s analyst day. (via CNET). I hope every local search site out there has added a new field in their database: “planet”.

Flickr photo by Charles Haynes.

I recently attended a short webinar from Weblistic, my friend Dick Larkin’s company. Weblistic helps SMEs generate more local leads from a very fragmented Web. They have not revealed too much about their secret sauce but yesterday, they showed how successful they were when search engine optimizing local video ads.

Their first assumption is that search engines are going to integrate video content within their universal search results. Google has already started to do so. Video is also a very fragmented market and opportunities to be found abound. Weblistic is placing bets on all major video sites and has created accounts at most of them. They use the “localvidsdotnet” handle on a variety of social video sites like YouTube, Yahoo Video, Guba, iFilm, and stickam. They then upload their local advertising videos and tag them with a variety of relevant keywords. Videos start appearing in the Google search engine results pages. In this example, Weblistic has managed to capture 7 of the top 10 positions for their merchant name. Cool isn’t it?

What it means: in a fragmented world, there will always be a business opportunity to defragment and simplify. The local video market is a good case study. Weblistic seems to understand that concept and is hoping to simplify Web SEO/SEM for small businesses.

If, like me, you live on the bleeding edge of web technology, you will appreciate reading (and watching) Mary Meeker’s technology & internet trends presentation from this year’s Web 2.0 Summit. Her Powerpoint “decks” always sum up nicely everything that’s going on in our world.

Photograph copyright Pınar Özger

Her current technology trends:

1. Tech stock performance strong reflecting future expectations – for now
2. Consumer demand for Internet-enabled services / products is strong
3. Innovation in wireless products is accelerating
4. Storage needs continue to ramp
5. Data center growth is robust
6. Emerging markets pacing next wave of technology adoption
7. Enterprises may be coming out of relative purchasing funk
8. Recession(s) = very serious potential challenge

Her current internet trends:

1. Strong Internet user growth – fastest in non-US markets
2. Strong broadband growth – with more upside
3. Search continues to improve as content access tool
4. Ongoing share gains to online from offline – large markets to tap
5. Turf wars increasing – core / emerging businesses + M&A
6. High level Web 2.0 trends are compelling
7. Software as a service (SaaS) momentum = strong + broad-based
8. Emerging Internet-enabled devices gaining traction

More details can be found in the actual presentation document and you can watch her speech here.

Nokia used the Web 2.0 Summit to launch their new Nokia N810 Internet tablet (specs here). Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Multimedia, took the stage to explain to us why it was a great device. I managed to capture in video the portion of his speech related specifically to local search.

What it means: portable computer + GPS + Linux-based open platform (built on Maemo) + Mozilla-based browser + wi-fi + potential integration of NavTEQ data = one mean local search machine… I’m really excited about that one! In related news, the New York Times has an article about GPS-enabled cell phones.

I love that slide coming from Chris Tolles‘ Web 2.0 Summit presentation. Tolles is the CEO of Topix, a well-known hyperlocal news aggregator. It clearly shows why Topix decided to allow user-generated content in their site back in April.

In it, he tries to extrapolate the number of daily local news stories coming out of traditional media outlets (newspapers, radio and local TV) and comes up with a grand total of 22,293. Given that there are about 43,000 zip codes in the US, this means every zip code gets 0.5 stories per day on average. Not much if you’re trying to build zip-code driven news aggregator. Smart move.

“CBS has not found the Internet to be cannibalistic to TV”

Quincy Smith (on the left), President, CBS Interactive, CBS Corporation, on the impact of the Internet on their TV business. They’re finding the Web and TV are different media and they’re strong believers in bite-sized entertainment. CBS clearly seems to get it.