[andreyf]

It's a bit early to say that, I think, but this sounds like an interesting development, for sure.

I'm a little confused, though - from what I can tell, these are API's that access information from social networks, iGoogle, etc. That's pretty cool, now people can make applications for the users of those networks.

Still... those saying this competes with Facebook don't really get what the point of Facebook is, at least for college kids.

[ajkates]

Well, as a "college kid" myself, and a heavy facebook user, and a total social software dork, I think I know just about as well as anyone the value of Facebook to college students. I can sum it up in two words: Social Capital.

I'm not saying this "competes" with facebook,per se. Rather, it's just an alternative to the idea of an "open (proprietary) API" that has failed in so many ways (uselessness of applications, nagging app requests, lack of universality for things like classes, etc). I'll be writing a blog post on this very topic soon.

I hope that clears things up a bit.

[alaskamiller]

Yeah, they're only 1/3 as valuable as an AOL subscriber. It's ridiculous to think that a walled garden is going to beat out on the web as a platform.