Friday, 28 March 2008

Users to Move Contacts Safely between Messenger and Social Networks with New API

Microsoft has decided to team up with five of the world’s most popular social networks, Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, LinkedIn and Tagged, to allow users to move their contacts over via a safe and easy deployment...

Microsoft has decided to team up with five of the world’s most popular social networks, Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, LinkedIn and Tagged, to allow users to move their contacts over via a safe and easy deployment.

This collaboration includes an exchange of APIs (application programming interface) that will create a two-way street allowing people to move their contacts and relationships between Windows Live services and social networking sites.

With this API, people can invite their Windows Live Contacts to join them on these social networking services, without the need for screen-scraping, or providing private user credentials to outside networks.

“We have created Windows Live Contacts API to help users access and share their data and contacts across the web in a safer and more secure manner. With this, we are providing an alternative to “screen-scraping” that is equally open, but safer and more secure”, said Samir Saraiya - Product Head, Windows Live Services, Microsoft India.

As part of this effort, Microsoft is introducing a new website, www.invite2messenger.net, where people can invite their contacts from any of these five social networks to join them on Windows Live Messenger.

“We have paid special attention to the context of relationships. Because a user has a friend on a social networking site does not mean that that relationship should be automatically imported to Windows Live Messenger. Invite2Messenger does not automatically store your contact data, it simply gives you the tools to establish relationships with your contacts on Windows Live Messenger—with your contacts’ permission”, added Samir Saraiya.

The service is currently available for Facebook and Bebo and will be available on Hi5, Tagged, and LinkedIn sites in the coming months according to Microsoft.