I hope this is true! This would be a great thing and everyone's social maps would finally be free!

How much can we trust a Google-driven 'open' social networking platform? They did purchase doubleclick after all. While these social networks are interesting projects, I don't think it's a good idea to allow a single company like Google to run the underlying network and maintain the user information. Certainly such a "platform" is not stable in the long term for building startups on if for no other reason than the social graph owner(s) can shut you and your applications out on a whim.

Give me a scenario in which it is in Google's interest to shut down their social networking API overnight without warning. Just because they can doesn't mean they will.

Isn't it true on any platform that you could be shut out if the APIs or underlying technology changes?

I'm personally not to phased by this announcement. I don't think Facebook's real strength is its API but its core functionality. So any attempts to outperform them on this issue is commendable but I don't think it will bother Facebook that much.

This could be good news for India-focused Web 2.0 startups given the Orkut demographic.

I wonder how close it will be to this?

http://mindrosity.blogspot.com/2007/09/how-google-could-beat...

What about privacy? http://fishtrain.com/2007/09/28/what-happens-when-a-social-g...

It's about time somebody did that. I thought it might make a good startup, but couldn't think of any way to get random social networking services to sign on.

The Facebook platform makes it possible for one person to build an interesting app in a week or two. Google will need to match this to be competitive.

It is the internet. You can build an interesting app even faster without touching Facebook's platform at all.

And make a lot more money

Facebook needs to find their adsense. Fast.

Not gonna happen IMHO. Facebook is about interacting with other people. Not about clicking on adverts.

Google on the other hand is about finding stuff, which can sometimes be achieved by clicking on an ad.

you're right. i'm sorry i should have been more clear. i was using adsense as an analogy. facebook needs to find its business model X, as google found adsense.

facebook definitely has a potential X that could be as profitable (or moreso) than adsense. but what that is i don't know. i'm sure they do though.

ah ok sure. Perhaps it's some sort of dating/matchmaking system. I can see that working, although that's a pretty crowded market already.