TechAddress

hi5 Opens to Widgetbox Apps to Expand OpenSocial Distribution

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:31:11 +0000

I just got a quick note from FriendFeed’s Bret Taylor letting me know that the FriendFeed Beta that MG Siegler spotted the other day is officially out and ready for public consumption. The new look sports a number of new features, all of which will end up getting integrated into the default design once feedback is garnered from the userbase.

There are a lot of interesting aspects to the new layout, most of which have to do with the organization of the data into different and user-defined groups, something that partially answers an issue I brought up with FriendFeed over the weekend.

In new functionality, though, there’s the ability to upload photos with new posts to the system, allowing you to select and upload multiple files at once with no additional downloads required (just using the standard share button that’s on every page).

Probably the most useful feature in this update is the ability to define friend lists. They’re designed to enable you to organize your friends into groups. This has long been a feature requested for services like FriendFeed and Twitter - the noise level that rises with adding new friends can interfere with the reliable communication you may have had with your close friends when you first set up your service. Despite the trademark spartan design on FriendFeed, keeping up with hundreds of folks is surprisingly easy, but in doing so, you’ll probably notice as I did the decrease in intimacy with your core friends.

The friends lists can help remedy this, and by setting up the groups, you’ll more easily be able to scan through and get a handle on what your buddies have been up to before heading on over to the white noise that is the combined feeds of all the people you’re following.

If your goal is more noise, rather than less, you’ll probably enjoy the newfound ability to see other people’s home feeds. This can be useful for when you want to explore others’ circles of friends and assimilate them into your own collective, as you’ll be able to see your current friend’s postings in the context of all their friend’s postings.

I haven’t had long to test these features yet, but at first blush, I’d say I’m all for them. They potentially solve a lot of issues I was developing with the service, so I expect them to be widely well recieved.

Source:Mashable!

Even though social network hi5 has had support for Widgetbox widgets since early July, the ability for developers to fully leverage hi5 as a network in relation to these widgets was limited to the capabilities of, well, a widget. Now, Widgetbox has teamed up with hi5 to allow access to its App Gallery for an integrated solution that allows apps built on Widgetbox to act as stand-alone applications within the hi5 network.

According to hi5, over 2 million Widgetbox widgets have been added to hi5 from its existing support, leading to more than 65,000 subscriptions to widgets. Now, any developers that would like to create an application for hi5 now have the option of creating an OpenSocial application that’s distributed on Widgetbox and through hi5 and all the other of the other social networks that have launched OpenSocial support.

This is yet another way in which developers can take extend their distribution, expanding on Widgetbox’s existing support for other platforms like Facebook as well. It allows hi5 to provide more value to its developer community, and allows Widgetbox to provide more channels through which its Application Gallery creations can be accessed. Given Widgetbox’s developments for its own advertising networks, making deals with large social networks will benefit Widgetbox and its advertisers and developers as well.

As hi5 was also among the first to support OpenSocial, and took things a step further with its own messaging API, there are a number of hi5-specific ways in which developers can further gain adoption for their applications. Got an app through Widgetbox on hi5? Let us know what you think of this new partnership.

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12seconds API Launches with Blippr and TweetDeck as Partners

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:31:00 +0000

Source:Mashable!

The recently launched video status service 12seconds hasn’t been around for more than a few weeks, but already it’s hoping to become a standard in the crowding playing field of video-integrated commentary services. To do so, 12seconds is seeking a seamless integration offering with its own product, in hopes that other third party services will find this useful.

The result is the alpha release of the 12seconds API, which lets you use the 12seconds service as your own video status tool within your site or network. This is, of course, an attempt to achieve growth through the organic marketing capabilities of word-of-mouth and indirect promotion through developer and third-party communities, which is often a necessary move for startups that are in the process of carving out their own niche in their related space. With competitors like Seesmic offering integration options such as blogging platform plug-ins, it’s clear that services like 12seconds need to find ways in which to appeal to an even larger user base and make its tools as accessible as possible.

So far, launch partners include Blippr, TweetDeck and Phreadz, all of which have integrated 12seconds into their services in different manners. While Blippr allows users to create a 12second video review to accompany or replace a 160 character text review, TweetDeck’s Adobe AIR client tracks 12seconds channels and plays videos on your desktop. Phreadz, on the other hand, is using 12seconds in a video commenting capacity for a conversational option members can use for feedback on user-generated content. If you use the 12seconds API, be sure to let us know what you think.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:What Can You Do in 12 Seconds? Make a Video Blog

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Facebook Providing More Detailed Stats for Application Behavior

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:30:47 +0000

Source:Mashable!

Mashable is rocking the U.S. SummerMash Tour in New York City for our final stop on the tour. We’re at Touch and are ready to party with a crowd of 600 tonight. We have some exciting things in store and you won’t want to miss out. We’re also joined by our sponsors, Sun Startup Essentials, Yoono, mySites, MoneyStrands, Kickapps, ffwd and special friends Social Radi.us and Stickam.

Can’t make the event? No problem. Check out the live stream from exclusive video partner Stickam (after the jump). They’re conducting interviews throughout the night and reporting on the happenings at the event.

Want to join us on tour? Check out the other upcoming stops on the U.S. Summer Tour:Boston | New York City

Source:Mashable!

Facebook’s new profile design and initiatives for developers promoting their apps within the improved Facebook navigation has led to none other than more tweaks on Facebook’s part. In this never-ending journey of improvement, Facebook is going to offer a new option for developers that displays their application’s metrics. This is being offered in direct response to th developer community, which is seeking better ways to understand their application’s performance.

The new section for developers will be a new Features tab in the Insights area of your application, which will show additional user stats pertaining to specific features within Facebook. Total counts for actions like canvas page views, clicks on profile boxes, confirmation on Feed forms, and the adding and removing of bookmarks lets developers gain more perspective on the activity occurring around their application. Better trend analysis allows developers to better their apps for future releases, and truly leverage the Facebook platform. The additional stats also allow Facebook to further differentiate its platform from other networks’ platform offerings, in hopes of providing a better experience for both the developers and the users.

Such a desire for additional information on the developers part isn’t entirely surprising, however, as Facebook spent the better part of the last 12 months rolling out new regulations for developer apps in an effort to curb any negative affects that could result developers taking advantage of the marketing capabilities of Facebook’s platform. As Facebook has also instituted some very stringent programs that encourage “well-behaved” apps in addition to more subtle incentives set up throughout the platform, it’s increasingly clear that Facebook needs to ensure a controlled environment for applications and user experience.

So with all these modifications that have taken place over the past year, the developers that have apps on Facebook’s platform are certain to want to know more about their performance, especially as there have been cases of apps being disabled for what seems to be no apparent reason.

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Yahoo Opens its Music Catalog to Developers with New API

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:56:40 +0000

Source:Mashable!

Yahoo may seem like it’s in a death spiral, but that has not stopped the developers from doing their work. Today we saw the announcement of the Yahoo! Music API.

The API is a fairly complete offering, giving developers lots of access to various parts of Yahoo’s catalog as well as user recommendations and ratings. As an example of what can be done with the new API, Yahoo points to their music video application on Facebook, which has been up and running since last year.

As a developer, the first question seems to be what data formats are available. Obviously, Yahoo is listening to the developer community because the API offers XML, JSON and RSS formats. There is also extensive API documentation in the API Guide. Most importantly, what does the API give you and what makes it better than the others?

The API is broken into 9 services and the video player API. The video player API allows you to embed the Yahoo! Music Videos Flash Player to quickly play any videos found through the API services.

The only initial concern with the API is that any service calls for ratings or recommendations require the use of BBAuth, a Yahoo-specific authentication mechanism. Otherwise, there is a lot you can do with these services, including:

* Artist Service

* Category Service

* Image Service

* Rating Service

* Release Service

* Station Service

* Track Service

* User Service

* Video Service

Each of the services has several options as well. For example, the Artist Service allows you to retrieve information for a specific artist by ID. There are also services for retrieving the list of popular artists and the artists within a specific category. As expected, several of the services have a search method when you do not know the ID of the item you would like to retrieve.

How does the API compare to other API offerings from Yahoo Music competitors? Imeem has an API that is geared towards how the site is used, allowing you to get information about your playlists, your friends and groups as well as some basic catalog information. Last.fm has an API that has been around for quite some time at AudioScrobbler.net. Most of the Last.fm API pertains to your profile, tags and recent activity. Given that both Imeem and Last.fm have a heavy social component, they are significantly better for finding recommendations from your “friends”. However, given the breadth of the services available, especially for standard catalog information, Yahoo’s API looks like a formidable competitor.

One important addition to all of this is Yahoo’s terms of service. You are limited to 5000 requests per day, which should be fine for a simple mashup as long as you do not get much traffic.

As expected, you are not allowed to use the API for commercial purposes, but you may contact Yahoo for permission. This is not any different from many other music APIs, so that is no surprise. Oddly enough, there is one item that needs to be highlighted:

You shall not use the Yahoo! Music APIs in a product or service that competes with products or services offered by Yahoo!

I can understand the point of this, but it seems a little heavy handed. If they are afraid of someone having a competing service that is better, make a service that is better than theirs.

Overall, I love the functionality that the Music API is offering. It is very detailed and provides several ways to get information. If I was a mashup developer, I would be concerned about the terms of service because they are not friendly in any way. Given the current state that Yahoo is in, I do not think they would try to shut down a decent service because it competed with theirs. They would not want the PR nightmare that would follow. Hopefully, people will find interesting uses for the API because you do not see APIs this solid every day.

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Create Custom Flash Map Embeds with UMapper (The Startup Review)

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:55:46 +0000

Source:Mashable!

Editor’s Note: This post is part of an ongoing series at Mashable - The Startup Review, Sponsored by Sun Microsystems Startup Essentials. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

STARTUP DETAILS:

Company Name: UMapper

20 word description: UMapper is a visual, universal, Web-based map authoring application that makes it easier than ever to create maps.

CEO’s Pitch: With UMapper, you can display geo-data and any layer on top of any map data provider (Microsoft Virtual Earth, Google, Yahoo, OpenStreetMap, etc.). This makes UMapper truly universal. UMapper utilizes advanced optimization algorithms for rendering vector shapes and displaying large data sets. These performance gains, along with the use of KML for data storage, make the UMapper maps efficient and optimized for search engines. Flexible API allows website developers to integrate UMapper into their websites and bring map-editing functionality to their users. Most of all, UMapper make is fun and easy to create and distribute interactive maps.

Mashable’s Take: If you’re ever in immediate need of an embeddable Flash map, UMapper is the service for you. This Microsoft Virtual Earth mashup essentially lets you make one-off maps for anything you’d like to mark, and then share them across the Web. UMapper itself is easy enough to use: choose a title and a description, and then start marking your map. The markers are fairly customizable, in terms of color, labels’ font sizes, and support for HTML descriptions.

If you’re not a UMapper user, your creation will be anonymous, though registered members have more options in terms of privacy settings and saved account capabilities, as well as access to community features such as comments on various users’ maps. Any public map can be shared across the Web as a Gigya widget, allowing you direct posting options to a number of sites like Facebook and Wordpress. The embed and KML files are also available as export options.

UMapper competes with existing map creation services like Google, which also offer custom marker and embed options. And as there’s no shortage of map mashup makers, UMapper is another one you can add to your list of options for whatever purpose you see fit.

Microsoft Takes MSN Direct GPS on the Open Road

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:55:05 +0000

Source:Mashable!

Today Microsoft announced an expansion of its MSN Direct ‘Send to GPS’ feature for navigation devices, an option it first introduced at CES 2008. Now any website owner can implement an API to allow visitors to deliver address and business information to compatible devices.

Microsoft lists several products from Garmin’s “nuvi” line as well as a number of Alpine and Pioneer devices as being MSN Direct-enabled; some are able to gather data wirelessly or through a USB connection.

As with all things on the Web, the strength of a brand or service is very much in line with its numerical value. Its ability to gather a premium supply of users, in other words. And though something as arguably non-essential as a ‘Send to GPS’ option may not catch the eye of most Web users, making it available regardless gives Microsoft a chance at a more complete reach on the location-sensitive market. Which is certainly growing to noticeable degree. The new MSN Direct API simply provides an opening for more website developers to implement the service per their users’ convenience.

Like Microsoft, Google and MapQuest have each come to similar agreements with Garmin for the transfer of location data in recent months. Microsoft’s evolution of its ‘Send to GPS’ function is only sensible if it is to maintain optimal relevance across the broadest spectrum of websites.

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Rediff Follows Facebook’s Lead With Its Own Platform Launch

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:31:59 +0000

Source:Mashable!

Rediff, one of the top online portals in India and one currently listed on the NASDAQ stock market, has evidently followed the past year progress of third-party developments within Facebook closely. Now it wants to stir a similar amount of interest in its own set of properties as well. Announced at Delhi’s Proto.in startup event, Rediff officially took the covers off its own developer program, called, plainly enough, The Rediff Platform.

The reason for the Facebook reference is simple. The company states that its properties are “being made…to support FBML,” Facebook’s markup language.

Indeed, Rediff is pushing an idea eminently synonymous with Facebook’s own. The phrase “apps economy” is writ large on the Rediff Developers page. But it’s also an effort that the company hopes will align with multiple pieces of the Rediff puzzle. To kick off the developer program, Rediff is first opening iShare, its music, video, and photo sharing service.

The company is promising grants to some students and entrepreneur developers through a basic submission program it is calling “Sociali.” The sum being touted by the company to fuel ideas thought promising ideas is 250,000 rupees, or US$5,800. A relatively small figure, it seems, especially if juxtaposed against Rediff’s expected revenue report for Q2 2008 (roughly $17 million). All may depend on the supply of developers Rediff finds enticing enough to fund in the weeks and months ahead.

The company states that developers ready to begin fabricating can now do so with data provided through its new website.

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Scriblink Whiteboard Adds Small Business Dimension

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:30:04 +0000

Source:Mashable!

When you join together the terms “online” and “whiteboard,” you probably conjure an image of some super-simple utility that allows one or more persons to share ideas. Companies like 37signals and Stixy offer such services. Yet they don’t take literally to the concept. Sure, they let users toss up text and files and so forth. But they don’t offer spaces totally open to a myriad of inputs, including free-form drawing and line figures and so forth. Scriblink appears unique in that respect.

We first introduced Scriblink to you about ten months ago, and while its basic presentation is the same as it was originally, it’s been refined into a more user-friendly device, and there are some new features that might catch your attention.

For starters, Scriblink’s toolkit is now displayed entirely openly. All components are positioned around the top and right borders of the main window, which you can use to specify your input type, color palette, etc. Everything seems easy to understand, and putting the board to use takes no time at all. Want text? Click the corresponding icon, find a suitable place on the screen, and write as you wish. You can even display a grid overlay if you like to keep things as organized as possible. An arrow button to adjacent to the ‘Clear’ option allows you to expand the size of the board if the default space proves too small.

As was the case months ago, there is no registration necessary to get started with the basic Scriblink device, and with it you can do things like chat with collaborators, send files and enable a conference call. However, one recently upgrade not seen before is a new Business Solutions dimension. This allows small businesses to gain access to an API and create customized whiteboards with company logos and so forth. “SBS,” for short, the new option allows three different levels of group whiteboard use, segmented with Silver ($9/month), Gold ($19/mo), and Platinum ($29/mo) designations.

As one would expect, all options are open for use on-demand. But they differ in two areas: users and time allotments. The Silver plan provided access for 6 simultaneous users, while Gold and Platinum allow for 8 and 10, respectively. As for usage permissions, Scriblink separates the plans with different bandwidth allotments: Silver, 25 hours; Gold, 100; Platinum, 200.

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