• TechCrunch, Thursday, October 25, 2007 10:47 AM

Facebook will need to find itself another major differentiator, because developer platforms are becoming commodities just like social networks themselves. Regarding third-party developer platforms, Facebook rivals have followed CEO Mark Zuckerberg's lead. Friendster's platform announcement comes just a week after MySpace; Google is next expected to unveil a similar third-party program.

The new Friendster platform is open immediately for developers, but the third-party programs, also called "widgets," will not be available to users until Nov. 30. Friendster, the one-time social networking leader in the U.S., is now the most popular social network in Asia, where it has 50 million users. Its contract with developers is similar to Facebook's, encouraging the sale of ads on widgets without forcing developers to share revenue. Third-party programs will also tap in into "Friendster data" (profile or "social graph" data) and will be promoted virally on Friendster's version of the Facebook news feed.

The only real differentiator is that Friendster programs won't be tied to the social network, which means that programs developed for other platforms can be brought to Friendster and visa versa. Friendster widget makers also have greater control over the kind of advertising and where it appears.

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