Bebo and Facebook are teaming up, in a move which could be a major blow to Google’s OpenSocial. The link up will mean applications will be compatible on both sites, so within hours of appearing on facebook, they could also turn up on Bebo.

At the end of October, Google announced their OpenSocial initiative, a kind of catch all for the various social networks out there. Facebook was the only one of the big three (along with MySpace and Bebo) who stood firm against Google’s attempt to control the Internet even more than they already do.

This latest link up between Facebook and Bebo, is a definite boost for Facebook, who are already growing at an exponential rate against MySpace and the rest of the wannabes.

The new initiative allows companies such as NBC, and Last.fm to create applications with features that will work on both of the sites. Facebook has already been the leader of allowing third parties to develop applications for its site, and this just adds to the user friendliness of the 2nd largest (and closing on the leader MySpace fast) social network.

Joanna Shields, the president of Bebo, told Times Online:

“Facebook had great success when it allowed third parties to write their own software applications a few months ago. Now, within a few hours, a Facebook application can run on Bebo, which should be good news for software developers”.

The link up doesn’t go as far as allowing Facebook and Bebo users to link their profiles, but surely a move between some of the smaller networks out there can’t be too far away.

OpenSocial is supported in full by News Corporation’s MySpace, which currently has a huge 110 million users. Bebo hasn’t abandoned OpenSocial completely, choosing instead to be the only social network to try and straddle both camps and hedge their bets, so to speak.

What’s clear in all this is that open source programming and allowing more interactivity between networks is the way forward. It’ll help the ones who offer the most user friendly ways to connect to grow, while meaning the less forward thinking sites (huhum MySpace huhum) are likely to stall and start losing momentum.

Related:

Entry was posted on Friday, December 14th, 2007 at 8:53 pm under Google, Internet.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
Stumble It!