Max Gladwell

The other search giant announces a new developer platform and the socialization of its entire web infrastructure. But don’t call it another social network.

From TechCrunch: “Yahoo wants to turn itself into one big social network-driven site, and simultaneously open many of its core services to get users and developers thinking of Yahoo as their Internet hub.”

With the failure of Yahoo! 360, this new strategy will leverage all of the company’s existing assets and slowly move toward what they are loathe to call a social network. Similar to the speculation around Google’s next move, this would enable users of Mail, Frontpage, Mobile, Search, and other services to unify them into a single profile that will be centered around the Inbox. Yahoo is embracing the OpenSocial API, which should make all of your favorite applications (widgets, gadgets) cross-compatible. Plus, the company is moving toward a more open environment, which will allow users to synchronize and share data with other social media services. This trend in portability is akin to the fall of the Berlin wall for the web. In many ways, it’s going to flatten the Internet in same way the Internet helped to flatten the world. That’s good for everyone.

Net, net, net: At some point, you’ll be able to flick a switch and turn your Yahoo experience into a social networking experience. This a positive step for Yahoo, especially considering the company’s commitment to carbon neutrality and it’s Yahoo! Green portal. It makes collaboration and communication around green living much more efficient for the company’s 500 million users.

Of course, this is still a ways off from execution, and there’s that $44 billion offer on the table from Microsoft. So don’t shut down your Facebook profile just yet.