Dare Obasanjo has some god insight on what Google will likely accomplish with their entry into the social media API space: they'll force a standard.

If enough momentum gains around OpenSocial, then three things will happen

• Widget developers will start to favor coding to OpenSocial because it supports multiple sites as well as targeting the Facebook platform
• Eventually Facebook platform developers will start asking Zuckerburg and company to support OpenSocial so they only need to worry about one code base (kinda, it won’t be that easy)
• Other companies with proprietary widget platforms or plans to create one will bow down to the tide and adopt OpenSocial

That sounds about right to me - it will be interesting to watch two things over the next little while:

• What will adoption of this API look like?
• Will Facebook feel pressured to support it?

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