Previewing the MySpace platform: iLike

Finally, MySpace gets real widgets that have access to profile data.

(Credit: Rafe Needleman / CNET)

At a party for the new MySpace Developer Platform last night (party pictures; swag bag contents), we got a look at the first apps writer for the new environment. While the platform won't be officially enabled on the public site for a month, according to the new MySpace CTO, Amit Kapur, the apps we got a peek at did look fairly developed already.

In particular, I got a good demo of iLike for MySpace. This music-finding app, which I first saw at the Facebook platform launch, has some features that leverage MySpace's social network quirks.

If you add the Music iLike app to your MySpace page, it gets access to your profile data--in particular, what music you've favorited. So as soon as you add it to your profile, it's instantly populated with your music-related data.

If you click on an artist from the iLike widget, and land on an iLike-powered artist profile page, you'll find the page personalized for you, with concert dates filtered by your geographic region, for example.

Artists who use iLike can manage their social network presence--on both MySpace and Facebook--from one location, which is a big benefit for them.

Artists' pages will now give users the capability to add them to their own MySpace profiles.

Other developers I talked with were very positive about the new MySpace platform. And not just because it opens up an audience to them, but also because MySpace is using OpenSocial at its core. While MySpace will be adding its own proprietary extensions to the platform to give developers access to its particular data, the fact that the ecosystem will be at least somewhat standards compliant should make it possible for developers to more easily port MySpace apps to other platforms.

And while I don't think the world really needs 1,000 new social networks, this is great news for all social net entrepreneurs. They're about to get a whole world of new apps, thanks to all the developers who will be attracted to MySpace's giant audience.

Previously: MySpace to developers: Come play in our sandbox!