• On CHOW: Why does asparagus make your pee smell?
October 17, 2007 8:35 PM PDT

MySpace platform opening up. Finally

by Rafe Needleman

Chris DeWolfe, CEO of MySpace, on stage with his boss of two years, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, finally announced to the world at the Web 2.0 Summit tonight that MySpace will have an open platform "within a couple of months."

After the platform opens to developers, it will open to a subset of users, about two million, to see if the "sandbox" that keeps that platform safe is reliable.

Before we all get MySpace apps, we'll get a catalog of widgets that we can add to your pages. Widgets aren't apps, though.

Of course, there are platforms and there are platforms. It wasn't clear at all how much of the MySpace social database will be exposed to developers, nor what data MySpace will let developers export to non-MySpace pages.

DeWolfe did say, however, that developers will be able to monetize their apps, and that MySpace perhaps will help them sell advertising.

L to R: Chris DeWolfe, Rupert Murdoch, John Battelle

(Credit: Rafe Needleman / CNET)

Rafe Needleman writes about start-ups, new technologies, and Web 2.0 products, as editor of CNET's Webware. E-mail Rafe.
Recent posts from Webware
Smartphone users, keep complaining
Two new remote Webcams: Mole and Vue
Google launches Maps tool for finding flu vaccine
Get a $10 Restaurant.com gift certificate for 80 cents
Hundreds of Facebook groups hijacked
Plan your wedding with these Web resources
Twitter, LinkedIn team up for self-promotion free-for-all
'Elf Yourself' returns with Facebook and Twitter power
advertisement

About Webware

Say No to boxed software! The future of applications is online delivery and access. Software is passé. Webware is the new way to get things done.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Webware topics

After 5 years, Firefox faces new challenges

Mozilla helped reshape the Web since releasing Firefox 1.0 five years ago. Now it's got a reawakened Microsoft and Google Chrome to reckon with.

There's a map for that: GPS or smartphone?

Almost every handset comes with mapping software these days, but standalone GPS devices are becoming more affordable than ever.

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right