Facebook wasn't invited to the OpenSocial party. Now it's throwing its own. Facebook says it will allow other social networks to use the software behind its third-party developer platform as a model. "In fact, we'll even license the Facebook Platform methods and tags to other platforms," Ami Vora writes on its Facebook Developers blog. The big loser? Well, anyone who writes apps for social networks, pretty much by definition. But also, Google.

At least one OpenSocial launch partner, Bebo, has already decided to go with the Facebook Platform. Expect more to follow. Google has yet to match the hype surrounding its OpenSocial announcement, admitting earlier this week its platform won't be ready until next year. "Open" is just another word for nothing left to lose.

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