Primera Jornada de Calidad e Innovación en la Producción de software. Organizada por el Centro de Calidad e Innovación del Polo Tecnológico de Rosario y la Municipalidad de Rosario 12 Junio 2009 Disertante: Sebastián Esponda, Administrador de proyectos, Globant

1. Developing Social Networks
Polo Tecnológico Rosario – June ‘09

2. Sebastián Esponda
• IT Engineer
• Focused on software development since 1998
• Recently: managed several social networks projects at Globant
• Contact information:
– sebastian.esponda@globant.com
– http://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastianesponda

3. Objectives - What’s in for you
Introduction to
Social
Networks Globant
• Concepts
• Top networks • Successful
• Importance projects
• Success factors • Contribution
OpenSocial Trends
• Specification Intro • Google’s
• Developing Social view
Apps
• OS Integration • Nielsen
project report

4. 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, …

5. 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.

6. Social networks are being highly adopted

7. How can a social network succeed?
Jyri Engeström’s 5 rules for social networks
Source: http://www.consumingexperience.com/2007/06/5-principles-for-web-20-success-jyri.html

8. 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)

9. Rules for social networks (2/5)
Define the key verbs for that object
Buy
Sell
Review
Upload
Research

10. Rules for social networks (3/5)
Make the object shareable
Permalink
Gadget
Push spreading
Source: http://www.consumingexperience.com/2007/06/5-principles-for-web-20-success-jyri.html

11. Rules for social networks (4/5)
What is the gift users can provide to their peers?
Monetary value
Exclusivity
Fun

12. Rules for social networks (5/5)
Work out a business model
Spectator
Publisher
Freemiun
Advertisements

13. Objectives - Roadmap
Introduction to
Social
Networks Globant
• Concepts
• Top networks • Successful
• Importance projects
• Success factors • Contribution
OpenSocial Trends
• Specification Intro • Google’s
• Developing Social view
Apps
• OS Integration • Nielsen
project report

14. Introduction to…
http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/

15. We want to be there…
(Images courtesy of Google)

16. There are several other networks…

17. Do we need to code from scratch?

18. A common set of API for building social applications…
…across multiples sites

19. 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

20. Who is using it?

21. 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…

22. Who is using it?
(source: Google)

23. Developing with…

24. OpenSocial Development Projects
Two different types of projects:
1. Application (Slides, Trippit,…)
2. Container Integration (MySpace, Orkut,…)

25. OpenSocial Application Project – How?

26. 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,…

27. Container Integration Project – How?

28. Container Integration Project – Step 1
Develop your user base: person, friends, activities, objects

29. Container Integration Project– Step 2
Export this information following the OpenSocial API

30. Container Integration Project– Step 3
Develop a system capable to render a Gadget to HTML

31. Container Integration Project
Problem: steps 2 & 3 are complex!!

32. Container Integration Project
Solution: leverage using Open Source
reusable components

33. Container Integration Project– Redux
Integrate Shindig to easy Steps 2 & 3

34. Container Integration Project– Redux
Build a bridge between Shindig and your backend

35. Using Shindig
• 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)

36. 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 …)

37. Objectives - Roadmap
Introduction to
Social
Networks
• Concepts
Globant
• Top networks • Successful
• Importance projects
• Success factors • Contribution
OpenSocial Trends
• Specification Intro • Google’s view
• Developing Social • Nielsen report
Apps
• OS Integration
project

38. Globant – Successful projects

39. 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

40. Objectives - Roadmap
Introduction to
Social
Networks Globant
• Concepts
• Top networks • Successful
• Importance projects
• Success factors • Contribution
OpenSocial Trends
• Specification Intro • Google’s
• Developing Social view
Apps
• OS Integration • Nielsen
project report

41. Trends – Google’s view – Joe Kraus
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-9970053-2.html

42. Trends – Google’s view
Discovery is
becoming social
….we trust in our
friends

43. Trends – Google’s view
How we share is
changing
…Don’t push, let
others catch up in
their own terms

44. Trends – Google’s view
Social sites? No, Social Web
…We will expect all sites to be social
….Traffic will be distributed
…Cross-site sharing

45. 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/

46. Trends – Nielsen’s report
Audience becoming
broader and
older

47. Trends – Nielsen’s report
• Going Mobile
– Mobile is a natural fit for social
networks, as consumers are
used to connecting with
friends via mobile calls and
text.

48. Thank you!!