OpenSocial makes the web better

Posted by Joe Kraus, Director of Product Management

As the web goes, so goes Google, and that's why we care about making the web better. Five months ago, we launched Google Gears to make the web better by making it work offline. Now, we want to make the web better by making it more social.

A tremendous amount of activity is occurring on social networks these days. Hundreds of millions of people share photos, rate movies, and throw virtual sheep at one another. All these social networks are looking to give their communities more and more things to do -- and they realize they can't do it on their own. They need to open up and become platforms for developers to extend. So, many social networks have looked at, or launched, their own APIs that typically do the same kinds of things: give access to user profiles and friend networks, and allow an application to post activities so that everyone's circle of friends knows what the others are doing. All of this has been good news, because developers could get their applications onto a social network.

But there's a problem: it wasn't one or two social networks doing this, but ten or fifteen. Now, to get on all the social networks a developer has had to customize their application for each one. When your "development team" is just one or two people, the proliferation of APIs forces you to make tough choices, because you can't do that much one-off work. Not only is this situation bad for developers, it's bad for consumers too: When developers can't afford to do the work to make their applications work on a certain social network, the people using those networks lose out.

That's why today we're excited to introduce OpenSocial, a set of common APIs that make it easy to create and host social applications on the web. OpenSocial allows developers to write an application once that will run anywhere that supports the OpenSocial APIs.

It's good for developers because it makes it easier for them to focus on making their web apps better; they get lots of distribution with a lot less work. It's good for websites, because they can tap into the creativity of the largest possible developer community (and no longer have to compete with one another for developer attention). And finally, it's good for users, because they get more applications in more places. Global members of the OpenSocial community include MySpace, Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, LinkedIn, Ning, Oracle, orkut, Plaxo, Salesforce.com, Six Apart, Tianji, Viadeo, and XING.

We were thrilled to see so many partners turn out for our very first CampFire One event, a small gathering of developers at the Googleplex. They do the best job of explaining why they support this vision of an open, programmable web. And so in the spirit of being social, we want to share the video from tonight's event.

Ana Serradilla

Fotos:

Revista Max, TV Azteca y Representaciones Gabriel Blanco

1408

1408 (2007) es una película de terror basada en un cuento corto del mismo nombre escrito por Stephen King en 1999. Dirigida por el director sueco Mikael Håfström y estelarizada por John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson y Mary McCormack, el filme nos cuenta la experiencia del escritor Mike Enslin (Cusack) dentro de la habitación de un hotel donde existe una maldición. Eslin es un escritor de sitios embrujados que ha perdido a su única hija por el cáncer y se encuentra separado de su esposa Lily (Mary McCormack). Aunque confiesa que nunca ha estado en un verdadero sitio embrujado, pues todos resultan ser trucos publicitarios para atraer turistas, recibe una misteriosa postal donde le advierten no hospedarse en la habitación 1408 del hotel neoyorquino Dolphin. Eslin llega al referido edificio y solicita hospedarse en la habitación 1408, pero el gerente Gerald Olin (Jackson) busca hacerlo cambiar de opinión. Le advierte de la enorme cantidad de muertes que han ocurrido en dicho sitio desde la apertura del hotel en 1912. Los decesos incluyen toda clase de suicidios (por ahorcamiento, corte de venas, lanzándose desde la ventana, etc.), así como muertes naturales en condiciones muy extrañas (infartos, asfixia y otros accidentes). Eslin logra persuadir al gerente de que le permita hospedarse en la habitación, a pesar de la advertencia de que no podrá soportar permanecer ahí más de una hora. Con sólo una mochila, una grabadora de voz y una botella de coñac (regalo de Olin), Eslin se encierra en la habitación, donde paulatinamente comienzan a suceder cosas extrañas. El reloj eléctrico modifica su pantalla y luce como un cronómetro que muestra el tiempo que le resta a sesenta minutos. La temperatura varía del calor sofocante a un frío que produce nieve, comienzan a presentarse apariciones fantasmagóricas de las víctimas de la habitación e incluso de su hija fallecida. La estructura de la habitación parece colapsar y Eslin no sabe si todo es producto de una alucinación o si realmente sucede lo que sus ojos ven. Y cuando Eslin decide salir de la habitación simplemente no lo logra, teniendo que buscar desesperadamente la forma de escapar.

1408 es una interesante película de terror psicológico, que sirve como muestra de que no se requieren de ríos de sangre y excesivos efectos especiales para lograr su cometido. El desenlace parecía ser el clásico (y deleznable) final "tramposo" donde nada de lo que vimos era real (sino producto de la imaginación del protagonista), pero por fortuna no resulta así. Definitivamente 1408 es una de las mejores cintas de su género en los últimos años.

1408: *** (Buena)

Bar Rafaeli

Esta espectacular mujer es la novia actual de Leonardo Dicaprio. Bar Rafaeli es una glamorosa modelo nacida en Israel el 4 de Junio de 1985, empezó su carrera como modelo profesional a los 15 años, sin duda su belleza traspaso todas las fronteras al ser la primera modelo Israeli que salió en Sports Illustrated, tambien fue elegida la modelo mas bella del año 2000 y 2001.
Fotos Bar Rafaeli a gran tamaño, gracias a Si.com.

Aida Yespica

Es una de las pocas Latinas que se ganó un nombre en Italia. Aida Yespica nació el15 de Julio de 1982 en Venezuela, con medidas perfectas y mirada cautivante Aida siempre muestra toda su sensualidad en las prestigiosas revistas de las cuales ha sido portada. Fotos Aida Yespica

Thursday Funny!

So I thought we'd start today with a cute story -


A 4 Year Old was the ring bearer at this wedding, and he it was his turn to walk down the aisle - I asked him if he was ready and he said "uh-mmm" and nodded his head up and down. I opened the doors and sent him down the way. He took 4 steps and turned to the right and put his hands up in the air curled his little fingers and said "rowr" and then took 2 steps or so and turned to the left and put his hands above his head curled his fingers and said "rowr" the guests were stunned and laughing all at the same time and he continued to do it all of the way down the aisle. The guests were in stitches laughing so hard, and then he walked up to his place on the alter.


The bride then proceeded down the aisle and the ceremony was perfect! After the ceremony I asked the little ring bearer what he was doing, and he said "Miss Melissa, I was a Ring Bear"



Happy Thursday!

Beautiful Newsmakers: November Picks

Wow... It's November! ... and it's the first week of the month! It's time for our October Top 9 picks. This will be the thoughest group we've had.

So... as usual, leave a comment below... let me know which Babe you will like to see taking on the Head-to-Head champ! ;)