Developing Social Networks

Developing Social NetworksPolo Tecnológico Rosario – June ‘09

Sebastián Esponda

• IT Engineer

• Focused on software development since 1998

• Recently: managed several social networks projects at Globant

• Contact information:

– [email protected]

– http://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastianesponda

Objectives - What’s in for you

Introduction to Social Networks

• Concepts

• Top networks

• Importance

• Success factors

OpenSocial

• Specification Intro

• Developing Social Apps

• OS Integration project

Globant

• Successful projects

• Contribution

Trends

• Google’s view

• Nielsen report

What is a Social Network?

• Online community

• People of similar interest shares something.

• Web based services:

– Create public / semi-public profile

– Add and search friends

– Browse friend's connections

– Share activities, ideas, values, …

Why are they important?

• Trusted decisions are made on social communities and

networks (=we trust our friends)

…make people recommend and rate your products /

services

• Business presence can be leveraged by pre-existing

communities.

…you don’t need to build an audience from scratch.

Social networks are being highly adopted

How can a social network succeed?

Source: http://www.consumingexperience.com/2007/06/5-principles-for-web-20-success-jyri.html

Jyri Engeström’s 5 rules for social networks

Rules for social networks (1/5)

Define the object round which your service is built

LinkedIn (jobs)

Last.fm (music)

Twitter (tweets)

Delicious (bookmarks)

Flickr (photos)


Define the key verbs for that object

Buy

Sell

Review

Upload

Research


Make the object shareable

Permalink

Gadget

Push spreading

Source: http://www.consumingexperience.com/2007/06/5-principles-for-web-20-success-jyri.html


What is the gift users can provide to their peers?

Monetary value

Exclusivity

Fun

Work out a business model

Spectator

Publisher

Freemiun

Advertisements


Objectives - Roadmap


• Concepts

• Top networks

• Importance

• Success factors

OpenSocial




Globant


• Contribution

Trends

• Google’s view

• Nielsen report

Introduction to…

http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/

http://incubator.apache.org/shindig/

http://incubator.apache.org/shindig/

We want to be there…

(Images courtesy of Google)

There are several other networks…

Do we need to code from scratch?

…across multiples sites

A common set of API for building social applications…

OpenSocial – Strengths

• Single programming model

– Developers: broad distribution network (write

once, run everywhere)

– Websites: larger pool of third party developers

& gadgets

• Low learning curve: JavaScript, HTML, and XML

• Licensing: Apache 2.0 & Creative Commons

Who is using it?

• 600 million: are the number of users if you add up the various social

networks that are now live with OpenSocial.

• 350 million: are the times users have installed the 7,500 different

apps created so far.

• $1.8 Billion: is the sum brands are expected to spend on Social

Networking sites by 2010.

• 20+ Containers

• Business is social too…

Who is using it?

Who is using it?

(source: Google)

Developing with…

OpenSocial Development Projects

Two different types of projects:

1. Application (Slides, Trippit,…)

2. Container Integration (MySpace, Orkut,…)

OpenSocial Application Project – How?

OpenSocial Application Project - 6 Steps

1. Find a place to host files (XML & images)

– No need for more infrastructure

2. Select one target social network (e.g.: MySpace)

3. Get frontend developers (Javascript & HTML)

4. Coach them on OpenSocial API and best practices

5. Start coding

6. Avoid pitfalls!

– XSS exploits, performance, X-container compatibility,…

Container Integration Project – How?

Container Integration Project – Step 1

Develop your user base: person, friends, activities, objects

Container Integration Project– Step 2

Export this information following the OpenSocial API

Container Integration Project– Step 3

Develop a system capable to render a Gadget to HTML

Container Integration Project

Problem: steps 2 & 3 are complex!!

Container Integration Project

Solution: leverage using Open Source

reusable components

Container Integration Project– Redux

Integrate Shindig to easy Steps 2 & 3

Container Integration Project– Redux

Build a bridge between Shindig and your backend

• Apache Incubator Project

• http://incubator.apache.org/shindig/

• Under active development … but production ready!

• PHP and Java versions

• Small development effort

(~ 320 MH for small networks)

Using Shindig

Container Projects - go the extra mile

• How we can make our social site more attractive to

Users?

– Directory, Tagging, Voting, Ranking,…

– Include interesting applications!

• How we can make our network more attractive to

application developers?

– Templates, Sandbox, Issue Tracking, QC (XSS

exploits, performance …)



• Concepts

• Top networks

• Importance

• Success factors

OpenSocial




Globant


• Contribution

Trends

• Google’s view

• Nielsen report

Globant – Successful projects

Globant - activities

• Hackathons (Hacking Marathons) and DevFests in

America and Asia with partners like Google, Hi5,

MySpace, Friendster, JoyEnt to engage the community in

this new movement.

• OpenSocial: involved with Google in the evolution of

OpenSocial since it was a confidential Beta back in

September 2007.

• Shindig PHP development



• Concepts

• Top networks

• Importance

• Success factors

OpenSocial




Globant


• Contribution

Trends

• Google’s view

• Nielsen report

Trends – Google’s view – Joe Kraus

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-9970053-2.html

Trends – Google’s view

Discovery is

becoming social

….we trust in our

friends


How we share is

changing

…Don’t push, let

others catch up in

their own terms


Social sites? No, Social Web

…We will expect all sites to be social

….Traffic will be distributed

…Cross-site sharing

Trends – Nielsen’s report

“Global Faces and Networked Places”

A Nielsen Report on Social Networking’s New Global

Footprint (Europe and US, Dec ’07-’08)

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/nielsen-news/social-networking-new-global-footprint/


Audience becoming

broader and

older


• Going Mobile– Mobile is a natural fit for social

networks, as consumers are

used to connecting with

friends via mobile calls and

text.

Thank you!!

VideoGlobant2007.mpg

Technology

Developing Social Networks