More on the OpenSocial launch: your feedback, your applications

Hi all,

After months of hard work, we have today released our OpenSocial-based Applications infrastructure, as well as the two first applications: XING News and Ask XING. A lot of valuable applications will follow soon, many of them developed by a number of partners that are currently turning some brilliant ideas into reality.

Viral launch

What we have been doing today is something new for XING, which we refer to as “viral launch”. “Viral” means that applications distribute themselves via “What’s new in my network”, XING private messages, and the user profiles. Whenever a new user comes in touch with an application that user can choose whether she or he wants to use this application herself. Have you already been infected?

Perpetual beta

Our new “Ship It!” paradigm implies that OpenSocial@XING is in a state of perpetual beta, meaning that we intend to integrate you as a user into product development than we ever did before. Do you have any ideas on how we can improve single applications? Do you have suggestions for new applications that we should bring to the platform? If so, we will be delighted to receive your input! To do so, we have set up a UserVoice forum (check my colleague Karsten Rieke’s post on UserVoice) that you can reach via the big, orange “Feedback” button within each application.

Want to develop an app?

Finally, if you are a developer or potential product partner and have an idea that you would like to turn into a XING Application by yourself, we are looking forward to get in touch with you. Feel free to contact me directly if you have some conceptual work or mockups in place that display a clear value for XING members.

Matthias & the XING OpenSocial crew