More Details on BlackBerry Social Platform Messenger API

At DevCon RIM let us know that they are working on releasing a new BlackBerry Social Platform which at its core with be a BlackBerry Messenger API. For years I have been waiting for RIM to do this and it looks like it is coming soon. I have this picture in my head of playing chess with a friend over a BBM connection kind of like Scrabble on Facebook.

When RIM mentioned the new BBM Platform API they did not really elaborate on what the features would be. They gave a couple examples and even did a blog post about it but it was slim on details. Jacob let me know that RIM has since updated their website with a new BlackBerry Messenger API page with a few more details on what developers will be able to do:

From their new description:

Developers can use a variety of APIs to give their apps read access to BBM contact lists, user profiles and groups, while enabling users of their apps to chat and share files such as pictures, voice notes, videos and music.

BBM contact list, user profiles and invitations

• Invite BBM contacts to download your app or initiate a social interaction within your app
• Determine which BBM contact has downloaded your app
• Access user profile info such as avatar, status and location

Application box in user profiles

• Add a customizable application box to a user’s BBM profile to broadcast achievements or provide updates

Groups

• Create BBM groups specific to your application

Content/chat from application to BBM

• Initiate embedded chats with BBM contacts from within your app
• Share content with BBM contacts from within your apps

Content/chat from application to application

• Create sub-communities within your application, even if the users are not pre-existing BBM contacts
• Enable social interactions within your sub-communities

Streaming data between applications

• Stream data between users of your applications for real-time use cases such as communication, gaming and location tracking

This is really starting to sound cool. I really hope they don’t pull another case of announcing API’s a year before release but who knows. Hopefully we will be available during the promised “spring of 2011.”