Yahoo! + Google > Facebook?

on March 12, 2008 1:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (307) | TrackBacks (0)

Only 24 hours after Mark Zuckerberg's pretty sound recovery from the disastrous Sara Lacy "keynote" at SXSW, in which he took questions but still refused to give details on how much access to Facebook Platform he would give developers, Michael Arrington of TechCrunch reports that Yahoo! may join Google's OpenSocial initiative:

Yahoo is in late stage discussions with Google to join their OpenSocial platform, says a NYTimes story from earlier this evening. Multiple sources at both Yahoo and Google confirm to us that discussions are happening, but won't say when an announcement might be made.
This would be a major win for Google, which has already enticed MySpace and other big partners to a platform that launched less than five months ago. OpenSocial is a defense by Google and it's partners against the runaway success of Facebook Platform, itself less than a year old. Both platforms allow third parties to create applications that will run on OpenSocial partner sites, or Facebook, as the case may be.

Wow. If Zuckerberg is shy about revealing plans for Platform, he'd better get over it quick before developers go with the tried-and-true instead of the white-and-blue (ouch, that was awful, but it's 1am so leave me alone).

Zuckerberg also didn't do so well when Robert Scoble asked him if Facebook would allow him to retrieve his information and possibly port it into other programs or platforms (in Scoble's case, Outlook).

Here's Scoble asking the question and Mark rsponding.

I'll note for the record that early on, Facebook allowed you to export contacts into CSV format , but quietly removed this feature at some point in 2005. A few months ago, I wrote Facebook support to ask if this would be re-added, and the form-response I received indicated that their support staff wanted me to believe the feature never existed. A glance at my Apple Address Book backed up to January of 2005 tells me otherwise, as it matches what was then my list of Facebook "friends."

So, Scoble wanted to export his data, Facebook shut him down, according to Zuckerberg because they want to "prevent spam," but let him back on after he raised a fuss because he is, after all, Robert Scoble.

Facebook, ironically, allows you to import data from almost any source, mailbox, or file. They just won't let you take it back.

Based on the track record of Yahoo! and Google supporting standard formats and openness (did you know that Yahoo! is the worlds' largest implementer of OpenID?) something tells me that Mr. Zuckerberg might have a challenge on his hands.

A few people claim that Mr. Zuckerberg "stole" the idea for Facebook from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, two Harvard students who "hired" him to create a similar site, before Zuckerberg took the idea and made it better (which I've defended him for in this space). Having been sent on this extraordinary journey of his by two Harvard rowers, Zuckerberg and company would do well to remember that just like rowing, it doesn't matter if you're ahead halfway through a race, but where you are when it's over.

We're not even halfway yet.