Facebook Prepares to Compete With Gmail: Launches Messaging API

FacebookFacebook is moving too fast this week for me to keep up.  On the heels of the Acquisition of Gmail-creator-founded FriendFeed, along with the launch of their new search interface, Facebook just took it one step further today.  In an announcement on their blog along with associated documentation on their developers wiki, Facebook released a set of new APIs for developers to begin writing software that enables them to read and display a user’s inbox and messages from Facebook Platform.

While Facebook has offered a rich set of APIs since the launch of their developer platform in 2007, Facebook’s messaging system has remained stagnant and seemingly untouched during the entire period.  Developers have been itching to get into the messages of a user on their behalf to help fix this.  Not only is Facebook opening this up for developers, but they are also getting ready to launch an entirely new messaging system being tested by a small group of users currently, set to launch “in the coming weeks”.  Facebook also launched an interface into their notifications API enabling developers to read and notify users when they receive new notifications.  I expect this to be used in Desktop applications such as Seesmic.

While people are speculating the fate of FriendFeed after the new acquisition, there seems to be two things on the mind of Facebook recently: Messaging and Search.  With the creator of Gmail on their team and co-founder of one of the best real-time search engines on the internet (that just so happens to have a superior Direct Messaging system as well), you can bet Facebook is already putting him hard at work in helping them on such features.  I hope and expect to see this new API implemented into FriendFeed’s own messaging system, as well – hopefully enabling you to import your Facebook inbox into FriendFeed’s own DM box.  We’ll wait and see.

It’s no secret that E-mail is an old and out-dated technology.  It only goes to say that we’re in a race now for the fastest, most real-time, and responsive messaging system to replace e-mail.  While Google moves forward with Wave, you can bet Facebook will be doing the same with their own messaging.  With the ability to now truly identify individuals socially without need for an actual “address”, E-mail may actually be going by the wayside.

Gmail has yet to launch any sort of API into its own messaging (that I’m aware of) – this move by Facebook is unprecedented.  While Facebook will not allow developers to actually send messages on behalf of users (a wise and careful move, I’m sure), this makes Facebook even more “open” in my book.

Developers can sign up for the new messaging platform by signing up for the Inbox API whitelist.

15 thoughts on “Facebook Prepares to Compete With Gmail: Launches Messaging API”

  2. Great article Jesse. While I'm not a big fan of Facebook I do see it as becoming a better tool as it becomes more open and shareable. I'd prefer a completely open social media unattached to any individual business with friendfeed's acquisition. I'd like to stay in touch with all my friends online no matter what happens with changing companies and policies.

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  5. I use facebook to stay in touch with family and friends, as well as, enjoy a quick game or two. This API will be a nice added functionality but I would rather see it built into some of the other web applications I am using now because one more will be just too many for me.

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  7. A no-brainer bet for the near future of email will be that a good platform will present a social networking profile or photo business card of an Email sender. My company's plug-in, SenderOK, does that across most platforms (Outlook, Gmail, etc).

    This was an obvious move for Facebook because the 5 major clients have been slow on the uptake. Some of the 5 move with the speed of a Brontosaurus. What was that about Microsoft wanting to buy xobni in 2008 but not succeeding so they didn't bother going in this direction? This could be big because people are already cutting and pasting the names of people who send them email into Facebook, Twitter and other social network sites. Nobody should have to transfer email sender data by cut and paste into a website to see whom they're dealing with.

    Email doesn't want to be black and white or plain vanilla.

    Not even your inbox reader panel wants to stay black and white. Note that the Gmail blog recently announced Anti-Phishing Keys which, like the SenderOK keys, will show a color corporate logo if the email is authenticated.

    Soon Email senders will have to have their emails authenticated if they want to appear in color and get any attention in the evolving inbox.

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  8. Some people will see a big privacy advantage in keeping their email inside Facebook's walled garden – it creates almost a “web of trust” to limit your email connection to folks you know.

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  15. A no-brainer bet for the near future of email will be that a good platform will present a social networking profile or photo business card of an Email sender. My company's plug-in, SenderOK, does that across most platforms (Outlook, Gmail, etc).

    This was an obvious move for Facebook because the 5 major clients have been slow on the uptake. Some of the 5 move with the speed of a Brontosaurus. What was that about Microsoft wanting to buy xobni in 2008 but not succeeding so they didn't bother going in this direction? This could be big because people are already cutting and pasting the names of people who send them email into Facebook, Twitter and other social network sites. Nobody should have to transfer email sender data by cut and paste into a website to see whom they're dealing with.

    Email doesn't want to be black and white or plain vanilla.

    Not even your inbox reader panel wants to stay black and white. Note that the Gmail blog recently announced Anti-Phishing Keys which, like the SenderOK keys, will show a color corporate logo if the email is authenticated.

    Soon Email senders will have to have their emails authenticated if they want to appear in color and get any attention in the evolving inbox.

    Like

    Reply

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