Connecting the Dots: Building Social Mashups Using Open AIM

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Connecting the DotsBuilding Social Mashups
UsingOpen AIM

• Gregory Cypes, Sr. Software Engineer

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Open AIM 1.3 3rd Party Developers Strike Back
Get ready to take advantage of all the
new Open AIM goodness...but before
we begin, a quick review of
Social Networks
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What is a social network?

• Conglomerate of sites, services and devices to
  connect you and your contacts
• A web of interconnected parts
• Think of it as a hub and spoke system like the
  old airlines

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What my web looks like
AIM
Mobile Device
Twitter
Google Maps
RTC
Me
Del.ci.ous
Facebook
Flickr
Music
LastFM
EMail
iTunes
AOL
Gmail
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Why Connect the Dots?

• Users have data scattered across networks and
  systems
• Realization we cannot be everything to everyone
• Ex. - Gamers want one experience while music
  lovers want another.
• Because it is fun

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How to Connect the Dots

• Leverage Open APIs
• Screen scraping is frowned upon
• Standards, Standards, Standards
• Microformats, yada yada yada.
• Nothing is taboo

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Quick Review of Open AIM

• An engineering-driven effort at AOL to position
  AIM as a premier Web 2.0 platform
• A comprehensive set of both client and host APIs,
  targeted at different types of applications
• Enhance the value of the AIM network by allowing
  developers to innovate on our platform
• Add value to other AOL properties by allowing
  them to leverage AIM
• Make it known that AOL is interested in openness
  and building platforms
• Help 3rd party developers to derive revenue from
  successful innovations on the AIM platform

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Components of Open AIM

• Web IM APIs (internally known as WIM)
• Whimsicals
• Javascript embed-able objects (buddy list,
  presence, IM)
• Wimzi
• Javascript embed-able object for anonymous IM
• Direct Server APIs
• SDK APIs
• Custom Clients
• Plugins
• Bots

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Web IM APIs

• API Basics
• Basic/Detailed Presence
• Buddy List
• Expressions
• IM
• Away Messages and Profiles
• Location
• Custom Sessions
• AIM Whimsicals are widgets that you can add to
  your web page with just a few lines of HTML
• Support Custom Themes
• Build your own web IM experience by calling web
  IMs URL based API
• Results are returned in JavaScript/JSON, or XML

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More Web IM

• Wimzi Coming Soon
• Anonymous IM widget
• Javascript friendly
• Theme-able
• Keep your name private while allowing anyone to
  contact you.

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Even More Web IM stuff

• Presence Service
• Simple form (returns image) http//api.oscar.aol
  .com/SOA/keyltkeygt/presence/ltsngtXML form (returns
  XML blob) http//api.oscar.aol.com/SOA/keyltkeygt/
  resource-lists/users/anonymous/presence//resou
  rce-lists/listname"users"/entry_at_uri"userltsngt
  "
• Away Page at http//buddyinfo.aim.com/away uses
  Presence API
• Can be used with or without authentication if
  unauthenticated, only users with no blocked users
  show up
• Buddy Feeds are RSS feeds of buddy updates
• Add feeds to your identity from anything that
  provides an RSS feed
• See other's feed
• Only trusted-server authentication is currently
  supported

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SDK Details

• Core AIM technology library, supports all AIM
  functionality
• High Level COM API
• Platform supports for
• Windows
• Mac OS X
• Linux
• Windows Mobile
• Uses proven third-party technology
• NSS (Mozilla) for security
• sipXtapi (Pingtel) or RTC (Microsoft) for
  audio/video
• Used internally at AOL for AIM 6.x and others
• Usable by Java via Java wrapper

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More SDK Info

• Custom Clients
• Build your own AIM experience into an application
• Build it on a device
• Plugins
• Full access to the API to build and extend
  features of AIM
• Bots
• Full APIbots can do file transfer, a/v etc.

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What can it do for you?

• Presence/Buddy List
• File Transfer
• IM Sessions/Chat rooms
• Image Transfer
• SMS/IM Forwarding
• Buddy List Transfer
• Expressions and emoticons
• File Sharing
• Away messages and profiles
• PC-PC audio calls and conferences
• Expressions and emoticons
• File Sharing
• Privacy Management

• PC-PSTN audio calls
• Preference Management
• PC-PC video calls
• Presence lookup from email
• Military-grade encryption of all communications
• Email and toaster alerts
• Custom presence info
• AIM location services
• ICQ/federated interop
• AIM directory info
• Location Services
• Report spam/Notify
• AOLCustom p2p sessions for data streaming

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Whats New in Open AIM?

• Custom Sessions
• Allows for peer-2-peer connections for custom
  data
• Send text, answer-response, or stream data
• Interoperable with Web IM
• Used for BuddyTunes
• Wimzi

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So lets start connecting the dots

• Live coding demo
• Lets build a widget
• Connect the client to the web
• Ambient Messaging
• Translate the world
• X-lator for AIM
• Wimzi demo
• Single use IM
• http//tweb31.web.aol.com7780/
• http//tweb31.web.aol.com7780/chris.html

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Keys

• Keys and Fingerprinting to maintain network
  integrity
• Three types of keys
• Dev Key 200 logins per day
• Deploy Key 200K logins per day or 2M per month
• Unlimited Key Self Explanatory
• Fingerprint is a SHA-256 hash of exe or dll

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Still not convinced?

• 3 Steps to integrate Web IM
• http//dev.aol.com/data_sheets/WebAIM_Quick_Start_
  Guide.pdf
• AIM Widgets
• Visual Studio not required
• Turn key solution
• AIM Gallery on Final Approach
• Easy to upload finished work
• Comments and feedback built into the site

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Getting Started

• Official site - http//developer.aim.com to get
  keys and download the SDK
• Read the Quickstart guide
• Look at the plugin tutorials
• Look at the sample code
• Look at the interface docs available online
• Searchable via Your Favorite Search Engine
• Let us know what obstacles you ran into

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Contact Info

• AIM Developer main page
• http//developer.aim.com
• My Info
• http//members.aol.com/gbcypes
• gbcypes_at_aol.com
• Other Key People
• Chris Dargis (Chris.Dargis_at_corp.aol.com) POC
  for WIM Questions, developer.aim.com and AIM
  Gallery
• Andy Wick Chief Architect of AIM Host