Yahoo! yesterday announced its decision to combine forces with rival online giants (significantly, Google) to make the open online platform -- OpenSocial, a success.
The project aims to develop a set of standards that can be used across all social networking Web sites, and will make it easier for software developers to write applications for Web sites such as MySpace.
The story so far has had plenty of twists, the kind that are seen only in Bollywood potboilers. Once, Google and Yahoo! were major rivals. Google grew and Microsoft began feeling the heat. Recently Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo! which fended off the attack. Now Google and Yahoo! seem to be becoming the new best friends for each other. Google wants to maintain its leadership in the online advertising and search space against Microsoft, and Yahoo! does not want to be bought by Microsoft.
This is the first major joint project for Yahoo! since the hostile takeover bid by Microsoft. Google started the OpenSocial Foundation in November last year and it took MySpace, which has 78 million users worldwide, on board immediately. Orkut, Google's networking site, and Bebo, which was recently bought by AOL, Friendster and LinkedIn all support the project. With Yahoo! also now in, the project has decided to become a complete non-profit organization, which is set to be fully authorized by July 1. The only major rivals for the project now are Facebook (which was given $240 Million by Microsoft last year) and Windows Live Spaces, who have neither signed on nor supported OpenSocial.
"There is only one place developers go right now, and that is Facebook," said Forrester Research Analyst Charlene Li, and added, "OpenSocial makes it easier for everybody else to get in the game." Incidentally, the project aims to reach 200 million users.
Google Product Manager Dan Peterson, said, "Welcome, Yahoo! We look forward to growing the social Web together." Google has launched opensocial.org as a main "hub" for information pertaining to the project. Google's Joe Kraus said, "If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together."
Meanwhile, Yahoo! Vice President of Platforms Wade Chambers, said, "Openness is in the Internet's DNA and it's also a major aspect of our culture here at Yahoo."
Yahoo! has so far turned down Microsoft's $45 billion takeover offer stating that the company is worth more than that. This month Yahoo! announced that it was opening two new research labs -- one in Israel, and the other in India.
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