OpenSocial & Facebook - Should you do both?
Wondering if you should use your Facebook Application on Google’s OpenSocial? With OpenSocial being used by Myspace, Bebo and Yahoo, many are wondering if the same applications should be leveraged on both.
The answer is a qualified yes.
The audiences of Facebook and OpenSocial have core similarities. This means that the application that was developed for the Facebook population may find some success in OpenSocial.
But it’s not a one-size-fits-all proposition. The two platforms attract similar demographics, yes. But ones with different affinities. Digging under the surface to understand these differences will pay dividends at the back end.
For example, regular Facebook users are most likely to use Twitter, buy clothing online at cause-related sites like ThreadlessNoMore, and tend not to branch out onto other social networks. OpenSocial users, on the other hand, trend more towards using Skype and Meebo, buy clothing online at upscale retailers like Abercrombie, and use multiple applications to provide personalized profile information.
Launching an application built for Facebook and the Facebook community onto the OpenSocial platform shouldn’t be done cold. To build success, take the time to work with the development team to consider the different audiences and technical structures. A few minor tweaks may be all that’s needed to rocket the application into a whole second universe.
