"No one single company can have a Web site that people are sharing information in and have that be an open system," said Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in a recent video post announcing updates and features. "One of the things important to us and going forward is true open standard and operability."

One new feature for developers is the Facebook Open Stream API, which gives users the ability to interact with their stream anywhere. With the stream -- the instant updates of friends' photos, videos, conversations and comments -- developers can access stories published into the stream and display them on a desktop, to a Web site, or on a mobile device.

"As we've built out the Facebook platform , openness has always been a theme for us," said David Morin, senior platform manager at Facebook. "This is all about making one of our core product experiences open to innovate in ways never possible before."

Now users will not only be able to consume the stream, they will have the ability to publish back into it. "With Open Stream API you will now be able to do this on some of your favorite Web sites such as Plaxo or desktop software such as Seesmic," Morin said.

New Features, Updates

Facebook has also created two additional APIs, called stream.get and stream.publish, as well as Facebook Query Language tables allowing developers to directly access the stream.

Using the new APIs, developers can access the stream for a user and then display content in a way that is most relevant for the user, according to the company.

"You can filter, remix or display the stream however you choose, wherever you choose," said Ray He, a Facebook developer, in an official Facebook blog.

Facebook's latest move allows developers to create for Facebook's 200 million worldwide users, allowing them to access their pages without a browser, through the Facebook Web site, and through programs developed to run on PCs or mobile phones.

Developers are also being encouraged to try Facebook for Adobe AIR, a desktop app built on Adobe AIR and its AIR client library, which allows developers to authenticate users with Facebook Connect from the AIR application.

To improve performance, Facebook has also added a new feature for developers to improve application performance. It also added a feature to Facebook Connect sites that allows developers to contact users if the user deactivates a Facebook account.

Consistent Control

With users sharing so much information, Facebook wants to continue to give users control over that information.

"Consistent with our previous steps toward greater openness, we believe users must have full control and choice, and that's exactly how we've designed the Facebook platform and the Open Stream API," said Facebook's He.