CopyCats- Google and Myspace to follow Facebooks Platform

The Facebook Platform has a few more copycats this week as Google and Myspace announced the will open up their borders to third party software developers. We first reported on Facebooks Platform back in May and again when it was reported that Yahoo was going to follow suit and "open" up. Imitation, truly, is the highest form of flattery but if you are Facebook, watch out for the competition this should create.

According to separate reports from TechCrunch, Google has plans to take the "open" concept to the next level by allowing developers to create programs across its many Web properties and services, while MySpace is gearing up to launch its own developer platform sometime next week. I can feel the white light of competition heating up for the best developers to build apps for your platform.

Facebook has been giving an unprecedented amount of access to developers and its opened up all new types of businesses and applications that the users of these networks can take advantage of and the creators can hopefully monetize. It seems like everyday that we are invited to try a new Facebook app or asked if we are going to build an app for Cutcaster on Facebook. It's in the works ;-)

The payoff is a two way street. Not only do developers get down and dirty with deep access to Facebook’s forty million or so users, Facebook also becomes a rich platform for third party applications and its users can leverage all the apps for a better experience.

Google is planning a similar move. Set tentatively for November 5, the Web giant will allow developers to create programs for its iGoogle home page and Orkut, its social network. I'm sure Gmail and Google Maps will be include in the future expansion.

For Myspace to enter this space seems in contrast to their past posturing. Myspace has long battled third party widgets by either shutting them down, threatening legal action or acquiring them see Photobucket. While I’m skeptical about MySpace’s ability to launch a good developer platform like Facebooks, I think it’s a long over due and a smart move on their part. Going forward, it seems that Myspace developers will be able to include Flash applets, iFrame elements and Javascript snippets in their applications, and access most of the core MySpace resources (profile information, friend list, activity history, etc.) according to the TechCrunch report. What is most striking about this, is that developers will be able to serve their own advertising within the applications and retain 100% of the revenue, which is again the same as Facebook.

This platform competition should be great for members of these communities and the developers, but it also means that developers will need to write and keep separate code for each platform they choose to build on. A great business idea/start up will be the business that streamlines that process for people. First to do that the best, should have a winner or the first to find a way to monetize all these apps could be drinking lemonade in the shade in a few years.