OpenSocial Profile container
Welcome to the OpenSocial Profile container project for Drupal.
With this project Drupal will 'soon' be able to integrate user generated profile content coming from several social networking sites using the Google OpenSocial API - RESTful data (People and Friends) API. A lot social networking sites work following a simple pattern: the user, the user's network and the user's activities within the network. The most of this user generated content could be re-used in third party sites or frameworks, by the use of application programmer interfaces.
Currently, the RESTful API code has not been released yet by the OpenSocial Foundation but they gave already the specifications for the Peope and Friends API, so we can get already far enough with this. Because there are no social networking sites embedding the OpenSocial API yet, there's also no live data to be included in a Drupal environment yet.
For testing, we set up a mock server that acts as a social networking site user's profile data source.
OpenSocial
OpenSocial is a new way for interaction between social software or social applications. Social networking sites are working on integrating the JavaScript API and in the future maybe more interesting the RESTful data API. The RESTful API makes a server-server connection possible, this means data transport = Drupal nodes.
Drupal and OpenSocial
Drupal is a great framework for the creation of several types of websites, and is many times used as a tool for the creation of social networking sites itself. OpenSocial was initial founded to bring social software together, to provide ways for more interoperability between eachother.
A lot of this user-generated content is typical profile information. Why not make a possibility to re-use this information in Drupal sites?
Features
- Users are able to integrate profile information from social networking sites to the Drupal profile
- In the future: (when social networking sites use OpenSocial RESTful API): Integration from sites as Myspace, LinkedIn and Hyves, and more...
Supporters
Several people have supported the OpenSocial container project from the beginning, these include:
- Eric Sol, owner at Solide, member open source platform Limburg (The Netherlands)
- Roel De Meester, owner at Krimson, launcher Drupal.be (Belgium)
- Boris Mann, owner at Bmannconsulting, Drupal supporter (U.S.)
- Robert Douglass, manager of Social networking sites group at Drupal.org, member at Acquia, ex-Lullabot (Germany)
- ...
Other Drupal developers have showed their interest in a OpenSocial container for Drupal, including:
- FirmIdea, launcher of drupal.org/project/opensocial
- Slantview
- Mubiesam @drupal.org
- Chatcharin, student who also wants to launch an OpenSocial project
- Sugree, webdeveloper, also interested in launching an OpenSocial project
Development
The research and development for this project is done together with Solide, a Dutch webdesign company, sharing the love for open source, Drupal and OpenSocial.
Live Demo
Please check www.opensocial-container.net for a live demonstration.
The next update of this project is planned after the OpenSocial Foundation releases the 1.0 OpenSocial RESTful code.
