Google has released the first APIs for its Google+ social networking service for developers. For now, the APIs are limited to read-only access of public data, and developers will have a “courtesy usage quota.” And although Google promoted the OpenSocial APIs as a better alternative to Facebook’s proprietary standards, Google’s own social networking service will not use the Open Social APIs either.
Approximately 25 million people have Google+ accounts, but recent press reports suggest that activity on the site has fallen off.