Hacking MySpace

I am sure a lot of people have heard of the massive success applications brought to Facebook in the past couple of years. Well Myspace recently joined the applications bandwagon and I have been watching it quite closely as web applications interest me, as does Myspace.

After Myspace Apps being available for a number of months now I thought that it was about time I made a post about them and the uses they have for certain people. I will also detail a bit about how to become an application developer and submit your own applications to Myspace.

What are Applications?

Applications on Myspace are small programs which you can add to your profile, share with friends and hopefully have some fun with. Most of these applications are in the forms of quizzes, games or image viewers but I think that there is still a lot more that developers could create when I had a look at the flexibility of Myspace Apps developer platform.

As I mentioned before, Facebook made a huge success with their applications and Myspace with around twice as many users should be able to do the same.

What uses do Applications have?

There are a number of uses that applications have to the developer who creates them and also the user who installs them.

The Developer

The developer may have been commissioned to create an application (which, as a programmer I notice more than most other people will), or they might want to use it to promote their own site. For example a Myspace resource site might make an application to show their latest layouts, or their favorite layouts in an attempt to get more visitors to their site. Of course there are developers who don’t make applications for any benefit other than for fun or to better their own programming skills.

The User

There also has to be a benefit for the users who install these applications, which is usually the focus of any good application. This is why a lot of applications are fun, based around games or giving you the latest news from somewhere. It creates a reason for someone to install the application, which is what the developer is wanting.

How do I Become a Developer?

I know this won’t apply to everyone who reads this blog, but one or two of you might be interested in creating your own applications for Myspace. If you are then all you need to do is sign up to their developer platform at http://developer.myspace.com/ read up a bit about how it all works (most of the information you should need will be on that site) and after you are accepted you can start creating your own Myspace Apps. If you do create one leave a comment and I will check it out myself. It’s always good to see what other people can do.

I have only recently signed up to become a developer and I am still to be accepted, so I should be creating some of my own applications in the foreseeable future.

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