Uma nova ferramenta será lançada nessa quinta-feira pelo Google, o Open Social - um projeto ousado que visa ser uma API social aberta à toda internet. O projeto compete diretamente com o Facebook e inclui parceiros como Orkut (do próprio Google), LinkedIn, Hi5, Friendster, Salesforce.com, Oracle, iLike, Flixster, RockYou, e Slide.

Open Social is very practical. Many standards die an early death because they are too complicated and hard to implement. Open Social is what you want in a standard — it’s expansive enough to do useful things, but limited enough to be very easy to implement, both for containers and for apps. (..) Is based entirely on Javascript. If you know HTML and Javascript today, you will be able to immediately use Open Social to turn your web applications and web sites into Open Social apps. This is very, very good for the web. Open Social is the kind of standard that web developers love, and can easily use.

Mais detalhes:
Google and Friends to Gang Up on Facebook
Open Social: a new universe of social applications all over the web
Details Revealed: Google OpenSocial To Launch Thursday

Update:
Open Social: screencast and screenshots
The web is better when it’s social
MySpace and Google Join Forces to Launch Open Platform for Social Application Development