iGoogle Becoming a Social Network

April 21st, 2008 | Published in Google, social media | 1 Comment

Today, Google announced a new site for developers which will help them build gadgets for the iGoogle, the customized Google homepage. In addition to info about the site, available here, the announcement also mentioned some of iGoogle’s new features, including left navigation, a maximized or "canvas view" option for gadgets, and social features for gadgets using the OpenSocial APIs.

I was very curious about the social features, which are described as including a friends list and displaying activities through a special updates gadget.

Reading through the FAQ, what this appears to mean is that iGoogle is going social. A special gadget called the "friends manager gadget" is being included in the developer tools, says the FAQ. Developers can share activities with other devs who have access to the Sandbox. However, the FAQ continues, stating "This is not the final network that will be used in iGoogle. Users will have full control over who their friends are and will be able to easily modify their list of friends. Stay tuned for details."

So, what is the "final network," then? Apparently, it will be a some sort of social network based around users’ iGoogle pages.

Another reference to this future network is hinted at in the FAQ, when reading a Q&A about iGoogle profiles. In an iGoogle profile, states the FAQ, you can modify your profile data (displayname and thumbnail) using the profile gadget. Again, the mysterious final network is referred to: "This is not the final profile or data that will be used in iGoogle. Stay tuned for details."

Reading on and making interpretations, I see there’s a gadget dialog box that will be for users to invite their friends to add a gadget, and gadgets with social features will need to receive permission from the user upon install.

More details about the new iGoogle Sandbox are displayed in this video: