A great day for data portability! Google just launched the Google Contacts Data API. Another great step forward for Google, users, and the prospects for an open Social Web.
I liked David Recordon’s take!
This is really great news, especially when viewed together with other building blocks, like OpenID, OAuth, and the Social Graph API. 2008 will be a year in which the foundation of the web gets a major upgrade, enabling a wave of innovation. It should become easy to socially-enable any website, application, or device — with users in control of their own data and content.
That’s the main theme of this blog — and the central strategy of the company I work for, Plaxo. Whether you call it an address book, a contact list, or a friends list, the answer to “who owns it?” is the same — you do! And, as is advocated for in the Bill of Rights for Users of the Social Web, you not only own it, but you must have the freedom to take it with you, wherever you go. Google is helping make that vision a reality.
Here’s more coverage (along with my commentary) over at Mashable.
The Real McCrea 
This is indeed great news – can’t wait for full on 2-way sync from Plaxo – guess that’s one of the many things keeping you guys busy!