The same week MySpace announced dataportability for profile information, Facebook has said they have similar plans.
“It’s a big move for the site. Until this point, Facebook has had a reputation for keeping its cards close to its chest–even banning the account of popular blogger Robert Scoble when he used a script to export his Facebook contact list to Plaxo. But Facebook has a representative in the Data Portability Workgroup, and executives have said that Facebook has wanted to bring its information outside the site eventually.
“These are just a few steps Facebook is taking to make the vision of
data portability a reality for users worldwide,” Morin wrote in his
blog post. “We believe the next evolution of data portability is about
much more than data. It’s about giving users the ability to take their
identity and friends with them around the Web, while being able to
trust that their information is always up to date and always protected
by their privacy settings.”
CNET has the scoop.
I’m fascinated and excited to see where this goes and quite frankly, have ideas that I’d love to explore as a business. The unanswered question is how sites that rely on eyeballs will remain profitable when interconnectedness results in decreased traffic. There are ways, but like everything web 2.0/social networking, we’re a long way off from the category killing, business models that will inevitably develop in the years – and decades – to come.
As a user though, I’m excited about what’s beginning to happen online.
