API implementation for my social network

I know about code development using PHP but not much about modern day web APIs. I want to implement a framework of APIs like Facebbok connect. Myspace connect, Google connect etc for 2 purposes:

1) Users can upload photos to their photo album

2) Other websites can login users using authentication from my site (similar to facebook/Google c开发者_开发技巧onnect).

So firstly, what is the underline technology / server requirements etc to implement this? Can i use PHP? Then what other schema changes are required? I see facebook has public API keys that other developers use for this. But I am not sure on the implementation.

Probably the best place to start is to read up on http://oauth.net/. I know there are several OAuth implementations in several languages like Java and .NET. I'm confident there is something for PHP (since Facebook is primarily PHP). Just have to hit the google.

I disagree. People use facebook because there is no option out there. I use it too (purely to show off to my friends what a loser I am on weekends when I sit at home and keep posting updates of how awesome my day was). But if i find a better network (not in terms of features but pure trust, a social network that actually respects its users and the information people share, I will switch. Creating an account is no big deal, takes 1 minute. But trust is a life time thing. Once broken it rarely ever comes back. I see it like a relationship. When i created my facebook account 4 yrs ago i was in a relationship with facebook. They betrayed me time after time, year after year and I have no respect for it now. It is like that partner who has cheated on you so many times that today you wish it would just die and fade away. If I find something better and I am out, and all my friends whom I know well enough share my views too. So you will get users, no doubt.

I like your idea of trying to create something, this is how we grow. If everyone thinks like these other people here then there will be no progress in the world. Everyone will be a follower only and not a leader. Google would have said there is a yahoo and microsoft which is huge let's just follow them. But they took their time, fine tuned their model and today they are bigger than these these brands. Of course it is a different story they are a bigger offender of being a big brother than facebook but with power, 99% of the time comes these unethical minds who want to take over the world. If you can fall in the 1% who can have power and remain true to your users, people will follow you in a true sense.