By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Korean Internet companies have developed a reputation for closed services, but the industry might be ripe for change with more companies showing willingness to open their networks.
Daum (www.daum.net), the country's second most popular portal site, and Paran (www.paran.com) have announced this month that they are supporting Google's ``Open Social'' initiative.
Open Social is a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) developed by Google and other Internet companies like MySpace that aim to create a unified system of tools at different social networking sites and allow interoperability of applications.
For example, if the Open Social movement becomes conventional here, an Internet user would be able to log-on to his blog at Daum and also be provided access to a Web community service on Paran.
The participation of Daum certainly adds weight to the Open Social movement, as the company has more than 4 million subscribers for its blog services and about 7.3 million Web communities called ``Daum Cafes.''
Industry watchers believe that Daum's commitment in Open Social could start discussions over the development of an open platform and common service standards for Korean social networking sites.
Paran will work with Google to develop tools and applications and said it plans to reveal an Open Social platform by the end of the year. The company also plans to open its current platforms for its social networking services to other companies and developers who could use them to create different applications.
The company already has a support program for Internet ventures, called ``Yes! (http://yes.paran.com),'' and plans to further encourage other developers in creating open-structured Web services and platforms.
``There is increasing interest among Korean Internet companies for developing an open platform, and more companies are joining the Open Social initiative,'' said Lee Sun-jae, a Paran official.
The attraction of an open platform is simple ― it allows companies more freedom in promoting their services in different networks.
That would be a crucial advantage for a company like Daum, which has been trailing Naver (www.naver.com), the country's largest portal, in the number of users and search revenue.
Naver, also the country's largest provider of blog services, is considering different ways to monetize the content created by its subscribers, potentially using them for target advertising, so opening its network seems out of the question.
Cyworld (www.cyworld.com), the country's largest provider of social networking services, also doesn't have immediate plans to join the Open Social initiative.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
