At first glance the OpenSocial initiative announced by Google last week seemed to be a huge victory for independent web developers like myself. The message was clear. Let’s find a way for developers to make it easy for users of web applications to port their data between websites. It sounds like a great answer to Facebook, whose developer message has been strictly about coding applications that suck data behind Facebook’s guarded walls.

But I’ve been thinking about what it takes right now (or what it took before OpenSocial was announced) to give users the ability to port their data from network to network. Step one is to create a javascript widget that can be embedded in any web page. Open source tools like Feed2JS have made this easier than ever. So essentially each social network could offer their user an RSS feed for their friends, presence and recent activity, feed that info through Feed2JS, put a little styling in the result and you’ve got your social widget. What the heck is so hard about providing RSS feeds and/or a stylized widget to go along with it? I’ve got one from Jaiku in my sidebar. I’m using another one from Grazr here. Many widgets (or gadgets) like this are all over the web. So why is there a need for a new API? I ask that question as someone who can’t code squat. So maybe there is an explanation.

It seems to me that step two in the process is for social networks and web publishing apps to allow users to embed javascript that will properly display on their sites. I think that this is where the bone of contention begins with openly allowing widgets begins. I remember when MySpace blocked certain 3rd party widgets because they allegedly violated something in the MySpace terms of service. So perhaps true entry into the OpenSocial crowd will mean that each site will get to choose which widgets that they will display. That’s not very open though. The users are the ones who give these social networks huge valuations. So what happens when someone codes a widget to OpenSocial standards but the destination web app doesn’t allow the user to drop it in their profile? It seems to me like that could still happen under the OpenSocial model.

Let’s forget about that point for a moment and go back to step one. Most of the larger social networks, including MySpace and Facebook, don’t provide RSS or widgets so that users can syndicate their friends and activities to other sites. The ones that do, like Twitter and Jaiku are leading the way in opening up things like that. Even the social photo site Flickr is very lacking in allowing the everyday user to port their photos to another social network or even their own personal website. And I pay to use Flickr! Not one of these social networks needs an OpenSocial API to allow users to take their data with them. So I really do wonder what, if anything, is going to change.

I would personally be happy if social networks like MySpace, Facebook, Flickr and others would step up and let non-developer types have the ability to port their profiles and content to any other site that will have them. We the users are the only reason why these services have their billion dollar valuations. And its a waste of our time to keep promoting them and building their value if they are not going to give anything back to us. Just my two cents.