Google’s OpenSocial defines a set of open API, which developers can use to build applications that can be hosted on websites that are “OpenSocial Containers”. OpenSocial containers are websites that have provided implementations for the OpenSocial API, and plugged the implementation with their data, effectively making their data available to applications which use the OpenSocial API. This opens up a great possibility for website owners who have any kind of social data, making them ideal candidates for hosting social applications. Social applications on a website can take a user’s engagement with the website to a whole new level.

How does one convert an existing website to a Social Container? Thats an important question to ask, and as it turns out, its not really too difficult. But before we get into that, it is important to understand a few things about the Google development platform in general.

Google has had, since long before OpenSocial, a widget platform that supports widgets called Google Gadgets. Google Gadgets API enables hosting of widgets on the iGoogle page, and provides APIs to access data from various Google Services like Google Maps. What OpenSocial does is, it extends the list of APIs to introduce APIs that make social data from a social container available to a social application.

Due to the reasons above, Implementing an OpenSocial Container broadly requires implementing the following two components:
1. Gadget Server providing the Gadgets API - The Gadget Server implements the Javascript Gadget API which allows Google Gadgets to be hosted and run on the Website

2. SocialData Server providing the RESTful APIs for servicing the requests from OpenSocial Gadgets (Social Applications) - The SocialData server would connect with the website’s server at the back-end, and provide implementations of the RESful APIs to be used by the Social Applications.

As it turns out, doing the above is not excruciatingly complicated really. Shindig comes to your rescue here. Shindig is an open-source implementation of the Gadgets Server and the OpenSocial API. Once you have Shindig running on your server and plug with your website, your website will be able to host Google Gadgets, and service OpenSocial API calls. You’ll have to plug in the implementation of the APIs with your websites’s back-end database to enable the APIs to access the data.

So there! Make your website an OpenSocial applications host, and engage your users with new and interesting functionality.