Bebo launches open apps platform

Bebo is opening its site to outside programmers to encourage the development of third-party applications. It’s Open Application Platform launch last night coincided with the announcement of partnerships with more than 40 developers to date who have created applications from music and movies to gameplay and photo sharing. Among the many US partners are European startup success story Last.fm. The move is actually a clone of Facebook’s platform, and the same apps will run on it, which has had over 7,000 third-party applications developed for it. Bebo has also signed on to Google’s OpenSocial program allowing social-networking applications run on multiple sites.

Last.fm is launching two applications to allow users to show off their music taste on their Bebo profiles, SuperBands and What I’m Listening To. Both were developed for Last.fm by UK-based developed Toby Beresford Applications Ltd.

Now that Bebo has it’s own platform do you think this is a positive move for developers who want to create more applications or a backward step?