Facebook today celebrated their one year anniversary of their platform with a release of fbOpen, an open source platform for social network.

This release includes the API infrastructure, the FQL parser, the FBML parser, and FBJS, as well as implementations of many common methods and tags. We’ve included samples and some dummy data to help you get started fast.

Facebook Open Platform also has extensibility points built in so you can add your own functionality, such as your own FBML tags, API methods, etc.

This certainly is a response to OpenSocial, as Facebook continue their catch up with other social networks such as MySpace, which is considered the largest social network.

The goal of this release is to help you as developers better understand Facebook Platform as a whole and more easily build applications, whether it’s by running your own test servers, building tools, or optimizing your applications on this technology. We’ve built in extensibility points, so you can add functionality to Facebook Open Platform like your own tags and API methods. We’re also hoping you use Facebook Open Platform in ways we’ve never thought of – just as you showed off your creativity with Facebook Platform, we hope this lets you be creative with the foundation of the platform itself.

It is licenced under CPAL. The FBML parcer is licensed under MPL.

Certainly more details will be released in the next few days.

This will leave door open to many new startup facebook applications.

Yesterday, TechCrunch wrote about a rumour about a possible announcement of FBOpenSource; today they’ve confirmed that Facebook will indeed go Open Source for their one year old platform.

What does this mean for you?

Well if you are operating a social network site, users can now run Facebook’s applications on your platform. This is a great news for the creative minds. A year ago Facebook launched their platform where it allowed users to create their own applications to run on their platform, which allowed other users to use many applications to interact with other users.

This is probably a response, a strategy to fight back to the “Open Social”, a Open Source Social Networking platform which is backed by Google, Yahoo and MySpace.

Facebook has issued the following statement:

“We’re working on an open-source initiative that is meant to help application developers better understand Facebook Platform and more easily build applications, whether it’s by running their own test servers, building tools, or optimizing their applications. As Facebook Platform continues to mature, open-sourcing the infrastructure behind it is a natural step so developers can build richer social applications and share what they’ve learned with the ecosystem. Additional details will be released soon.”

Stay tuned folks, lot more details to come in this fight to hold the ground in social networking.

This really means, the face of social networks will soon be changing to even a more comprehensive, more effective tools that will be available for the people who will continue to use it everyday. This really is good for the end-user.

Sun MicroSystems is teaming with social networking site Mashable.com to create a weekly review of new startups. The newly created category is part of their partnership to help startups with emerging ideas garner greater publicity for their efforts. In addition, Sun Microsystems, as part of its Startup Essentials Program with mashable.com is hosting a free event called “Startup Camp” in San Francisco on May 4 to 8. The event unfolds as a non-traditional conference, such that startup participants actively take part in sharing, networking, and discussing ideas as apposed to the accustomed practice of listening to the speaker rant about startups. Also, the event will showcase a competition for Startups to compete against one another for the title of “Best Startup” by means of a 5 min business pitch. Hence, for those who feel that this is unfound territory, then may I suggest you take a glimpse of a past event by Sun Microsystems by visiting SunMicrosystem’s startupcamp.

A study conducted by a U.S. firm, Nemertes Research, finds that web users should expect internet performance declines by 2011 as a result of increased demands on bandwidth from the likes of YouTube, music files and VoIP (Voice-over Internet Protocol) services.

Specifically, the issue isn’t about the internet’s own infrastructure, but rather the limitations of those service providers, including telephone and cable operators, that provide the means for which businesses and residences can access the internet. According to the study, telecommunications and cable firms will have to invest an estimated $137 billion (U.S.) globally to retain the current internet service quality. The United States shares an enormous portion of that pie. The United States is required to spend $55 billion in addition to the $72 billion they had already planned to expend on broadband access.

However, there is some assurance to web users that the model used for the study is an “if-then” model that doesn’t claim that performance will decline, without a doubt, by 2011. Rather, the outcome of decline is based on certain assumptions and doesn’t take into consideration the notion of broadband access via wireless. So, there are shortfalls to the study. Regardless, there is sufficient study that indicates major concern in 2011, but from now until 2011 there is a lot of opportunity to fix the infrastructure shortfall.

Click here for the full study and associated FAQ page

CARMA (Carbon Monitoring for Action) is a new website with a massive database containing information on the carbon emissions of over 50,000 power plants and 4,000 power companies worldwide. The creators are banking on the possibility that the disclosed data will have substantial public impact such as a global cleanup of polluting power plants.

David Wheeler of the Centre for Global Development and creator of the database stated that “Public disclosure is already credited with reducing air and water emissions of toxic substances in Canada, the U.S. and even in China.”

A similar public disclosure initiative was also launched via the MDG Monitor website to confront global poverty. Such initiatives emphasize the profound impact that the web can have on public action and illustrates the positive influences of the World Wide Web.

Google Maps is all set to make a mark at a gas station near you. Official news from the Los Angeles Times states that Google Maps will now be available at over 3500 United States pumps, manufactured by Gilbarco Veeder-Root Inc., beginning in December. The innovative map service kiosk and gas pump colloboration features a full colour screen and web connection with map printing capabilities.

Karen Roter Davis, a principal business development manager for Google, says “Making maps available at gas pumps appeals to Google because the company wants to make its services available whenever and wherever people need them”

However, the service doesn’t yet allow gas patrons to search via the actual address, but rather have to resort to landmarks, hotels, restaurants and hospitals selected by the gas station’s owner. Surprisingly unlike Google, the internet giant has decided to provide the service without its trusted sidekick, popular ads to form the revenue component. Instead, retailers take home the monetary benefit as participating retailers will be able to make income from other merchants that offer discounts on the service kiosk. Google, probably has its own way of directly monetizing the pumps, but will probably wait for people to become accustomed to the service first. Google, I have to admit, with all its glory, definitely places its cards right before making its move.

Click here for the official annoucement from Gilbarco Veeder-Root Inc

In the amidst of Google and Facebook competing for limelight in the social networking arena; news arrives from the Sydney Morning Herald that Google and Cisco are joining hands with United Nations to fight global poverty. The two technology tycoons have joined to create MDG (Millennium Development Goals) Monitor, a website aimed at helping the United Nations reach its global poverty goals by 2015. The website provides public access for those interested in tracking global development goals in countries across the world via the well known Google Earth interface.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that “the new website is one of those tools because it will enable policymakers and development experts to learn from one another’s successes and setbacks, and it will increase public access and attention to the UN goals”.

It is inspiring to see Google returning some honest relief to the world from the technology they have developed. However, while a worthy cause for policymakers; the question remains whether the website’s monitoring functionality will be able to change the overall mindset or perception of humanity towards global poverty?

Click here for the United Nations Campaign to end poverty.

Silicon Alley Insider just released news that Google is launching open source APIs to outsmart Facebook in the social networking arena. This is the beginning of the next revolution of social networking. Basically, it is Google and every other social network against Facebook. Google has already partnered with many social networks across the web, providing open source APIs or applications.

Google’s APIs differs from Facebook APIs, in that Google’s APIs are adaptable over various web platforms, while Facebook API can only be used with Facebook.

Google’s challenge will be in managing application between various social networks. According to Google’s open source API system, various social networks can now all have the same third-party API. Furthermore, users must be willing to join these social networks along with their friends and it is unlikely that users will join just for the sake of using Google’s universal API.

Similarly, developers might be a bit wary of creating applications for Google over potential income constraints. With Facebook, developers receive a significant portion of the revenue generated from the APIs. Google, on the other hand, may be willing to share its profits just to take some limelight away from Facebook. However, Google partners and every other social network out there may not be so keen on sharing their profits with developers. That is, unless Facebook joins Google’s open source system, which would be in light years.

Myspace is also said to have partnered with Google’s open source. This new union will definitely bring in a new force to Google’s open source API. Recently, Microsoft bought out exclusive ad rights over Facebook while Google stood still. Judging by the recent API launch, Google seems to have had its own agenda on handling the social networking momentum. Nevertheless, we will just have to wait and see if Facebook can withstand the stiff competition coming their way.

Click here for Google’s Open Social Blog

Microsoft, previously having an exclusive advertisement deal with Facebook in the United States, seized another opportunity for exclusive global advertisement rights over Facebook. The exclusive global deal with the social networking giant for the next four years came at a hefty price tag. In fact, Microsoft invested $240 million to acquire a 1.6% piece of Facebook real estate equity. This amount reflects a valuation of the company at a grandiose $15 billion and also illustrates the amount of confidence Microsoft has in the company and the scope for social networking as a whole. This deal is definitely the sort of aggressive action needed to challenge Google in its own domain. Apparently, Google, who made a similar deal with MySpace last year, lost the deal to Microsoft probably due to the fact that Micosoft already had strong ties with Facebook.

However, it is yet unknown whether the amount spent by consumers as a direct result of advertising really justifies the sort of investment made by Microsoft. Microsoft must have a definite business plan to monetize Facebook’s rapidly growing user base, which is even greater than MySpace traffic. Perhaps the collaboration could lead to Microsoft developing a new Microsoft Office catered towards the Facebook platform. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if Microsoft can target advertisements towards successful monetization, which is based on personal information disclosed by users. Regardless, we will have to wait and see if the duo is as competitive in the realm of ad based revenue generation as Google.

Click here for the announcement on the Wall Street Journal

Google is all set to enter the mobile industry according to news released by the Toronto Star. Sources indicate that Google is keen on capitalizing on the mobile advertising market available through cell phones. In fact, Penry Price, the vice-president of advertising sales for Google’s North American operations, stated that “If we don’t get into the space, we’ve got a big problem”. However, the means of which they plan to accomplish this is quite questionable. Regardless, Google with a market valuation near $200 billion seems more in gear to embark upon such an endeavour.

Previously, over-hype circulated blogs and news sites that Google was planning a Google phone to compete against Apple’s Iphone. Now, it appears that their focal point will shift towards software as apposed to hardware. In fact, a possible mobile phone operating system might be at work that is supposed to accomodate all the Google services already available to the mobile phone user. The major difference here is the scope for ad supported services. Furthermore, the implementation of advertisement within Google’s own YouTube and their recent acquisition of Jaiku.com is a good indication of where they are going.

Google should delicately introduce advertisements in a non-intrusive way to the mobile user. Arguably, the inclusion of free minutes, features and other freebies might win over the budget conscious cell phone user in quickly adapting the Google software. However, Google will definitely face stiff competition from Microsoft’s Windows Mobile and other manufacturers of mobile applications that are built into phones. Furthermore, it will take substantial convincing to bring on board mobile carriers such as Verizon, Telus and Rogers to partner with Google. In addition, collaborating with mobile phone manufacturers like Samsung and Nokia to install the program on cell phones will be equally challenging. These carriers and manufacturers have benefited considerably from a lack of healthy competition in their mobile domain and may not be willing to adapt the Google vision.

Alternatively, to avoid such challenges, Google could purchase its own wireless spectrum, which can be used to launch a mobile broadbank network allowing Google to operate like a mobile carrier. In fact, there is potential that Google might bid $4.6 billion for such a licence in the United States. However, these are just educated assumptions and unless we see substantial investment in the form of transactions; we have no way of truly knowing Google’s intentions. Nevertheless, it seems quite evident that Google has serious goals in taking advertisement technology the mobile route.