Google Product Manager Dan Peterson today announces the results of their most recent 'hackathon,' the OpenSocial 0.7 API specifications. I haven't had a real good chance to examine the OpenSocial specifications and release notes since the initial announcement, so I took the opportunity to take a look this afternoon.
The announcement was of particular important because the new specification look like they finally include support for 'gadgets', or in other words, social networking applications. The gadgets now support different 'views', i.e. the ability to run in profile and canvas view, like a typical Facebook application.
The new Gadget API and the improved OpenSocial API will be supported on MySpace's recently announced new developer platform, as confirmed last week by Adam's conversation with Amit Kapur of MySpace:
Finally, Kapur told me that the MySpace Developer Program will support Google OpenSocial from day one. This may provide a much needed boost for OpenSocial, which has received criticism for offering very little in the way of tangible products since being announced.
Within the Gadget specifications, there looks to be specifications in the features section for skins, an interesting addition, which presumably creates an ability to make the app look appropriate to the varying social networks the application may appear on.