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If Facebook were to open up, after working things out with other workgroup members, that would be huge news.
about opening up" wouldn't fit in the headline :-) And regardless, I
think it's noteworthy that a senior executive of Facebook is even
talking about best practices or agreeing on standards -- but you're
quite right that it is still early days.
If any system of which data of the user is shared across multiple sites, would the valuation of those sites using the shared information not be cut by at least 50%?
Lets take Facebook for example. I figure their multi-billion dollar valuation is for their ability to reach to millions, and the information they have about all of those users.
If then one company, lets take OpenSocial (google) has all that information, they are the true big-wigs.
So, for convenience, its great, but for the sites using it, it won’t be as valuable if their looking for an exit-strategy, right?
I’m not an economist here, so please let me know if I am way off, but thats how I see it going down.
I don't think Facebook's valuation is based on the fact that it has
somehow trapped its users and all of their data inside its
walled-garden network -- otherwise known as the "roach motel" business
model. And if that is what it's valuation is based on, then much of it
will vanish.
I'd like to think that social networks rise or fall based on what they
can help you do, or how easy they make it to create a network of
friends, rather than how efficiently they lock you in -- although I
know there are some big companies who disagree on that.
Plus, I don’t think social networks will open all of their data, just share some of it and allow its users to export them using certain yet-to-be-know standards.