MySpace launches developer network

MySpace on Tuesday said that it is launching the MySpace Developer Platform in a move that will open up the site to third party applications.

Like Facebook, MySpace is looking to open up an avalanche of third party development for its platform, but there are a few twists. For starters, MySpace is launching its platform with a one-month application development window. In other words, developers will have a month to test and build their application before being rolled out to consumers, who will get access to this software in early March.

Kyle Brinkman, vice president and general manager of the MySpace Developer Platform, said the one-month application period was put in place so all developers start off on equal footing. Brinkman noted that the MySpace developer network is competitive with Facebook's approach, but the social site wanted to cut down on the first mover advantage that some third party apps had on its rival's site.

Brinkman added that MySpace is opening the platform to developers within a sandbox. "Everybody equal chance to build applications," said Brinkman.

While the merits of MySpace's attempt at meritocracy in third party software could be debated more testing before hitting consumers is a good move. I've run across more than my share of third party apps that weren't reliable on Facebook.

Other key points from Brinkman:

• The developer network will work with Google's OpenSocial. MySpace's third party apps will be built on standard JavaScript and html. "There is no custom markup language," said Brinkman. "It's the same as developing anything on the Web." Brinkman added that the program will connect Flash applications to the MySpace APIs.
• Sample APIs will include OpenSocial with MySpace extensions, Action Script and REST. These APIs will allow developers to see everything that's available in a public profile, including friends list, about me and geographic information.
• MySpace will layer in security processes. MySpace will deploy the Caja JavaScript scrubbing technology developed by the social network and Google. The general idea behind Caja is to scrub JavaScript to prevent malware. Caja will be included in OpenSocial. There's also a security review process for third party applications.
• Developers will get a cut. Developers can monetize their canvas pages, pull in ads and keep 100 percent of the revenue. MySpace will add in HyperTargeting and SelfServe ads with a yet-to-be-determined revenue split.