Date: 03-27-2008
Yahoo! Inc. has joined Google and News Corp. to form the non-profit OpenSocial Foundation, an initiative aimed at making it easier for software developers to introduce enhanced features on social networking websites. According to observers, Yahoo’s inclusion in the team will add momentum to the effort to create a common standard for web apps, also known as widgets. The OpenSocial project, which was initiated by Google five months ago, has roped in Friendster, LinkedIn, Ning, and Bebo as supporters. Even business software makers like Oracle and Salesforce.com have become part of the clique. The foundation is slated to be created by July 1. According to Joe Kraus, director of product management at Google, products for about 200 million users will be created by next week by developers for a handful of networking websites.
