Google+ releases APIs, will app developers bite?

Google+ has now released several sets of application programming interfaces (APIs) that allows app developers to access public data on the rapidly growing social network.

Its most recent API, released on 4th October, gives developers access to Google+’s search functions, which calls up relevant people and posts based on keywords entered. The feature scans not just the title, but also the body and comments of the post, as well as the people who reshared the content.

Prior to this, Google+ released a developer preview of the Hangouts API. Hangouts is a feature that lets multiple users conduct a video chat and even watch video content together. This API enables developers to run their apps from within Google+ Hangout.

And on 15th September,  Google+ launched its first API which gives developers access to user profiles and their latest posts. Code libraries for developers that code in Java, Python, Ruby or PHP have been released as well.

Google has been rapidly improving its social network to compete with Facebook. Previously invitation-only, the Internet giant soon opened the floodgates to allow anyone to join.

A recent estimate has put the size of the Google+ network at around 50 million users, although nobody but the Googlers themselves know exactly how active these users are. So it’s anybody’s guess whether the social network will flourish or flounder.

As a developer, are you looking to use these APIs for your apps? Do you know of anyone who plans to do so? Share with us in the comments section below!

Comments