MySpace has announced a new set of APIs. These include APIs for real-time streaming, status and mood commenting, open search, photo uploading, and an updated version of the post to/share API.

"MySpace sees huge value in real-time data and believes sharing it will mature the socialization of content on the Web," said MySpace COO Mike Jones. "MySpace is building the next-generation content distribution platform and is opening up our floodgate of public data for developers to make compelling real-time experiences around the Web."

The Real-Time Stream API allows the full MySpace activity stream to be pushed to third party sites in real-time. It is already being used by Google, OneRiot, and GroovyCorp.

"MySpace made it really easy to integrate public MySpace data into our search engine," said Tobias Peggs, GM of OneRiot. "With access to this real-time data, we’re offering more comprehensive and meaningful search results to our users."

"MySpace users are making a huge contribution to the realtime, social web by sharing millions of links with their friends each day," said Peggs. "We're delighted to have access to that information through the MySpace Real-Time Stream API."


We've already seen what Google is doing:

The Status and Mood Commenting API lets third party sites use MySpace status and mood updates and allows people to comment from those sites. Comments then appear in the user's MySpace activity stream, and users can interact with that stream without leaving the third party site.

The Open Search API allows third party sites to include public MySpace profile information in search results. Users can search for people by name, profile type (such as musician, celebrity, comedian) or email address and filter search results by gender, age and location.

The Photo Upload API lets users upload photos to MySpace from third party sites or MySpace Apps. It also enables creation of public or private photo albums.

The updated version of the Post To/Share on MySpace API allows for the sharing of content from third party sites with a MySpace user's friends. When a user posts content from another site, it goes directly to his/her MySpace activity stream, creating a link back to the third party site.

MySpace is even going so far as to host a " developer challenge " competition starting January 4 to encourage developers to come up with some cool apps utilizing the APIs. Developers will have the chance to win cash prizes and promotion on MySpace.

These MySpace APIs could go a long way in keeping MySpace relevant in the era of Facebook and Twitter. Frankly, they are long overdue. The APIs mean that there can be a lot more useful apps implementing more functionality with MySpace. That means more ways users can keep using it. This and MySpace's acquisition of imeem could be huge for the future of the social network.
 
Do you think MySpace is helping its future with its recent announcements? Comment here.

Related Articles:

> MySpace Buys imeem, Rolls it Into MySpace Music

> Showtime For Real-Time With Google

> MySpace Upgrades Users' Mobile Experience