MySpace and Google to follow Facebook Apps

It looks like they're all at it now. Techcrunch reports that MySpace will launch an application platform similar to Facebook Apps later this week. Techcrunch also broke the story that Google plans to do the same thing late last month.

I feel a little ambivalent about this, and it's partly because it's quite difficult to use an application on Facebook casually; to use it, you are prompted to invite your friends. If someone posts a video, you have to add the application too; you can't just watch it. And then there's the blasted invites to become a Jedi, Sith, Vampire, Werewolf, Mortgage adviser or similar. I might be exaggerating here, of course - Scrablous and Red Bull Roshambull are both cunning applications that have used up many working hours here at IWR towers.

There's clearly potential in applications on these sites, and opening up Google, MySpace et al is good for business and good for creativity. However, there does need to be a balance between utility to the operating sites and utility to the end user. I'm not sure about you, but I'm definitely getting a feeling that people are fed up with being swamped with apps, and fed up of spamming their friends with invites in the process. Of course, I may be (and usually am) wrong, but a successful launch by one or both of these behemoths could mean a dilution of the market - something that may cause a few problems for social networking services, which rather rely on a critical mass of users - you join because your friends join, after all. What are your thoughts? Let's have 'em.