Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Opensocial - What's Hot Right Now?

After spending the better end of a month knee deep in the opensocial namespace, there are a handfull of things that already stand out. Here's a few that we've seen...

It's a beautiful thing to see so many developers buzzing with ideas and bringing them to life before our eyes, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. At such a young age, Opensocial has yet to fully blossom, but here are a few of our favorite early birds. Will they get the worm? We'll let you decide...

1) - The Opensocial Directory (OSD) Where are all of the widgets going to be listed when Opensocial is released? Who knows... some directory... many directories... somewhere... somehow. Until then, this is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in Opensocial.

The Opensocial Directory is a 'wiki' site set up specifically for listing Opensocial apps, developers and publishers. Whether you're a developer, or just interested in the future of Opensocial, this is a great place to list your apps, and get a feel for what other developers are working on. Browse through the list, try out some apps, and possibly get some inspiration for a few brand spankin' new ideas. Be sure and check back regularly, as the lists continue to grow daily.

Oh, and did I mention that you can add your application and list your development team. How cool is that?

2) - Opensocialexa Opensocialexa hit the stage fairly early, and I must admit, I was pretty bummed that it wasn't our idea. Still, the creator did a very nice job putting together the 'Alpha' version and we couldn't help but implement it in a few of our apps.

Opensocialexa is a tool for tracking Opensocial application usage across multiple containers. By simply embedding a bit of code at the bottom of your application, Opensocialexa is able to track the number of people using the application, the number of views each application is getting, and even who is using your application on their profile (complete with links and screenshots).

Registration is a snap (takes about 30 seconds) after which you simply paste the code and you're good to go. Opensocialexa does the rest. Immediately after you register and copy the code snip into your application, Opensocialexa will begin collecting and showing data.

Opensocialexa Embedded Graphic The graphic (shown above) that is placed in the registered App (when you copy the code snip) is clean and well-suited for almost any application. On top of that, the designer has assured us that a custom 'skin' is in the works and will soon be available upon registration. Very Cool!

3) - Ning Opensocial Directory Ok, so Ning implemented an inline gadget directory (the first public one as far as we can tell), why is it on this list? Well because it's the first implementation of an inline opensocial gadget directory... geeesh.

One of our applications (that we managed to get listed in Ning's directory) saw a very noticable increase in usage overnight. Not only is it listed for everyone to see, but with the click of a button, Ning users can add this app to their whitelisted profiles. Real Slick!

Of course this won't be the only directory, not by any means, and as new directories slowly reveal themselves, I would encourage developers to jump on it and get your app listed as soon as it's functioning in the directory's container. When the holidays are over, and Opensocial hits the user... there's no looking back. (Oh Yeah!)

4) - Google's Opensocial Group Now, if you're a developer, this is the place to be. Here you'll find everything you want to know about Opensocial, from timelines, to bug reports and feature requests.

Don't worry, you don't have to be a member of the groups (or whitelisted for any sandbox) to read up on Opensocial here. So if curiosity has you by the clicker finger, take some time and peruse these postings, because if you're looking for it, chances are you'll find it here.

Having trouble finding a starting point? Try This page.

That about wraps up today's list. Please direct any feedback to our Contact Form. Take care and happy coding.

_{-Dustin / Tuesday, December 04, 2007}