Is Facebook open?

In the last few months, Facebook became “open,” with its open API for developers to build programs within the community. Users may now select from thousands of applications to add to their profiles. However, this action did not make Facebook an open community. For Facebook to become truly open and innovative, Facebook needs to allow applications, websites, and companies to easily export data and content out of the community.

At the DEMOfall Conference, I voiced my dislike and warned the companies of Facebook applications. These programs dilute profiles and a user’s ability to efficiently find information. Most recently and not shockingly, we saw that only a few applications are reaching a critical mass. The API, while being utilized, is not creating exceptional applications that are being adopted in mass, and thus is not creating value for the average user.

For Facebook to create more value from its network, it would open itself, not to novel internal uses, but external. If Facebook were to truly open its network, here are just a few of the areas Facebook could expand into:

1. Allow other sites to use the Facebook login, like an OpenID
2. Give the user the ability for Photos, Movies, and Notes to be indexed and searched, or even exported to another website
3. Export user data into Address Book, which automatically updates

The more open Facebook is with its content, the more interwoven it becomes into the web. The principle behind this idea is the same as I discussed in my previous post, “Universities! Let Open Innovation In!”. By letting others utilize your information that is sitting on the shelf (or in a profile), you create value for yourself and others. However, as I warned when Facebook opened its API, this action would instantly dilute the community’s sense of “community.” Whether Facebook will harness this opportunity or not will determine whether or not Facebook becomes a lasting corporation or a web fad. Google has allowed others to utilize its open tools, the custom search being one, and look at where it is today. Will Facebook be Google or AOL?

For further reading:

Fred Stutzman- The leading Facebook researcher:
The directionality of social network platforms
Anil Dash:
Blackbird, Rainman, Facebook, and the Watery Web

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