APIs Improve Location-Based Social Networks
Posted: December 08, 2009
By Ron Callari
When Web 2.0 entered our lives as new technology, there was a sea change in communication and the way we conducted business. It was “characterized as facilitating interaction, information sharing, interoperability and collaboration — which in turn, led to the development and evolution of Web-based communities, hosted services and Web applications.”
The participatory aspect of Web 2.0 encourages developers to add value as they add applications to existing networks. The purpose of the Open Source Initiative was to facilitate software development where an open source software license would allow for the free distribution and redistribution of the software program and source code in original or a compiled format. Communities grew as open source software addressed specific needs, reduced costs and allowed users to share software programs, components, modules and plug-ins.
Application Programming Interfaces or APIs allow third-party developers to build anything they desire on top of an existing social network platform. As location-based systems develop, and social networking moves from the desktop to mobile devices, will these new networks follow the same development path?
API success stories abound. With the acquisition and integration of the Summize search engine built specifically to index Twitter posts, real-time search became the ‘golden child’ of the social network space. And when “Massive Multiplayer Online” gaming’s popularity skyrocketed, API developers seized the opportunity to adapt online versions of these games for the world’s largest social network; namely, Facebook.
MobiLuck, a location-based social network provides a means to communicate on a local level but also to interact with people anywhere in the world, for free. As one of the first LBS networks, its Bluetooth messaging application available since 2003 has now exceeded 2 million downloads globally. With the Middle East as one of their first markets with an estimated 500,000 users, this LBS is popular in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates in addition to a strong following throughout Western Europe.
In discussing open source APIs with Olivier Chouraki, MobiLuck’s CEO and founder, he believes that while “third-party developers and open access to [MobiLuck's] data certainly is on their roadmap … it’s not top priority.” More important is “improving and finishing their integration with existing networks such as Twitter, Facebook and MSN,” according to Chouraki.
Many of the hand-held mobile devices will be entering into open source API relationships with certain location-based social networks over time. In speaking with Tom Schuyler at GyPSii, he indicated that “GyPSii has OEx, Open Experience, an API that engages with partners, like Garmin ASUS navigation phones.”
According Shane Lennon, GyPSii’s senior vice president marketing & product management, “GyPSii runs on all eight leading mobile operating systems - iPhone, Android, Java, Symbian S60 and S40, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and MID/Notebooks - and is compatible with more than 350 devices in over 26 languages.
As far as the possibility of opening up APIs to the public in the future, GyPSii is not ready to release a statement as to what direction the company might take in that regard.
Brightkite, an LBS mainly based in the US but with a strong presence in Europe, Japan, Canada, Mexico and Australia is scaling significantly by delivering nearly 50 million SM messages per month from 2 million monthly users. Brightkite makes it easy to meet people based on the places you go. In real-time, you can browse profiles of people around you, see what your friends are up to, post photos and notes to places, all while maintaining comprehensive control over your privacy.
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