Bloggers are buzzing about Facebook’s decision today to dispatch a representative to join the DataPortability Workgroup, a group of coders working to develop standards that would allow web users to transport their friend lists, photos and other media between social networking sites. Google, the search engine, and Plaxo, a web site that lets users share their personal contacts, also announced they would join the group.
But most of the attention has fallen on Facebook, which in the past had favoured a closed approach in which it would not allow its data to be easily ‘scraped’ for transfer between sites. Just last week, it blocked the account of Robert Scoble, the popular tech-blogger, after he used a tool made by Plaxo, the web contacts company, to mine his Facebook profile for his user information.
Facebook has not yet said whether today’s move represents a wholesale embrace of data portability, or whether it represents something less than that. But if the response around the blogosphere is any guide, many industry-watchers are excited about the prospect of the fast-growing social network jumping on the portability bandwagon.
"Today changes everything you’ve ever thought about social-networking data and lock-in before," said TechCrunch, a popular Silicon Valley Blog, "by joining the DataPortability Working Group Facebook is embracing open standards and open access, and that is a huge fundamental change from its previous stance on being locked in to closed standards."
That seems a bit premature. Just because Facebook has agreed to join the working group does not mean it is prepared to accept or implement whatever standards emerge from its work. Nevertheless, Facebook’s move is, at the very least, a step forward.
Update: Facebook emails to say:
"We are committed to giving users control of their data on Facebook and, at the same timne, safeguarding the privacy of users. Facebook joined the DataPortability Workgroup in order to actively participate in industry dialogue and to represent feedback from the Facebook community."
That would indicate that Facebook wants to observe and participate, but not necessarily embrace, the group’s work.
