OpenSocial : Tips on Creating/Planning your App.

While Developing application, Games.. etc for OpenSocial we usually make one Big Mistake is to create Apps which we Like or replicate a product which did good on some other Medium.. take an eg. of an Viral ad./ app which did good on Portal/website might not do good on Social Networking Site (SNS) because in some way .. SNS does not work like usual ".Com"

So, do what?

Well, i have some markers which i presume every Product Mangers and Developer should keep in mind before developing an App.

- Design your Application keeping in mind that it should fit into most of the known OpenSocial Containers such as Orkut,Hi5,Ning,MySpace,Bebo,Friendster .... and so on. But if you are targeting one particular Container such as Orkut.. then please make sure your Application looks cool on inside it.

- Come out of your own "World" from where you are looking @ SNS.. forget what you like/Dislike and rethink on whats widely used Feature types.. 'X' feature might sound "Cool" to you.. might not coz the larger part of TGs needs/likes something else.

- Widely work on Feedbacks with different sets of TGs. Co-workers and Subordinates a big NO NO.

- UI gives the intial kick start to any application So work around it.. as much possible.Cleaner the better. If you are targeting one particular Container.. a Look Alike will gain Confidence.

- Most Important point : You are developing/Planning a Social App.. Cross check that your app is SNS friendly or not.

- Try incorporating messaging Feature.. Comments.. Feedback.. Voting.. Ping.. what ever that makes the user (person who installed the App) interact with the Users from and Out side the Friends List ( with permission )

Let me explain you why : I, as an user of "X" particular app will love to see any app which says more about me .. may be in a Funniest manner or in a coolest way ..
ideally a personality type app which shows me who all are of my type.. is Cool
a Game App which shows me who all scored around my personal Highest Score.. is Cool
an App which relates us to people inside and Out Side my List.. is So very Coool.. after all .. its all about networking..

- A very specific Note to the Developer/Designer/PM ..Showcase your app in a very Smarter and self explanatory way by creating Cool Icons and a Simple description about your apps in not more thn 3 lines

- Viral out your Apps using Communities ( Don't Spam ) Post installation .. make sure your apps is broadcasting some Update under "updates from my friends"

- Avoid incorporating Too Many feature... "Every body is not a Geek" keep it simple and More personal.

- Seed your Application by mailer, Blogs, Get it reviewed (If u wish by us).. viral it out .

- Last and Final.. Your Apps should interact with the Owner ( the Person who installed the App ) regularly..

- Tips to Developers : Share your experience with others .. Leave comments if possible.. and be more social.. afterall you are developing a Social App. ;-)

Martin Selva

Ps : Thanks to Google Team for Feedbacks and helping us out during OpenSocial hakathon.

OpenSocial Hackathon - Feb 19th to Feb 22nd

Orkut Team is Conducting a Hackathon Starting on Tuesday 19th Feb which will go on till 22nd Feb.. As per the Plan Developers might be showcasing their Applications in a SHOW and TELL Event.. and for this a Technical Lead engineers (OpenSocial Platform) will be there with us...
I personally feel .. this might be a very good time/opportunity to sync up with Google-Orkut team.. coz i have loads of queries in my mind.. will be great to show something and ask a query on it..

If you are not attending the Hackathon.. but still wish to sync up on what goin on.. Watchout this space..I'll be updating it during Breaks and Post Hackathon.

Martin

Facebook F8 vs Google OpenSocial

The Facebook F8 platform pretty much revolutionised the face of Social Networking. Opening up ones architecture for other parties required great courage and Facebook were able to successfully pull it off.

Growing valuation and massive increase in usage meant that Google had to respond. Orkut was and is still hardly used in the United States. It's not too popular with the Europeans either. Google knew that simply opening up their social network to 3rd party developers wouldn't be the best of options.

So what...?

They decided to go one step further and decided to come up with a system which would seamlessly fit into a lot of other social networks and together all of them would be able to beat Facebook with Google being the adhesive binding them all.

But will they be able to succeed?

3 reasons OpenSocial might be able to beat Facebook?

1) Developers might not need to make 10 or 15 different applications based on the API's of various different Social Networks. This is the prime weapon.

2) Streaming data out of the system - as compared to only feeding in the content. Allowing 3rd party applications a medium where they really stand to benefit in terms of traffic, usage and the ability to impart a better feel of personalization. Perhaps allowing inter-connectivity between Social Networks.
For eg: My flixster account is connected to all the Social Networks which I am on - and not limited to just one social network. If I write a film review on a movie on my Orkut Flixster app - all my MySpace friends get alerted about it too.

A lot of users might have accounts in multiple social networks - and many are pretty active in at least 2-3 of them. Especially when it comes to niche social networks.

3) Language. Facebook is highly limited to an English speaking audience currently and this is where the OpenSocial can really WIN big. Having a set of APIs where the back-end of an application works efficiently and the front-end serving up different languages depending on nationality, country and language spoken.

3 reasons Facebook might still have the last laugh?

1) Facebook has the most monetisable traffic - the US traffic. It's not to bad in the European countries either. Facebook Apps have increased pageviews and time spent on the spent to an incredible extent as compared to pre-F8 days.

2) They are the first movers. Few apps on Facebook have become the very reason why users log on to their Facebook accounts daily. Apps grow on you before they get virally spread and massively used and this has already happened on Facebook.

3) Facebook has Social Networking at it's core while Google has Search as it's primary focal point.