Image by via CrunchBaseI discussed Google Friend Connect yesterday and how I have implemented the social gadgets on this site which are located in the sidebar. Facebook have now released their competing Facebook Connect service which I was able to interact with today for the first time.Facebook Connect is the next evolution of Facebook Platform -- enabling you to integrate the power of Facebook Platform into your own site.
As a developer, you can add social context to your site in four main ways:
- Identity. Seamlessly connect the user's Facebook account and information with your site
- Friends. Bring a user's Facebook friends into your site. You can even link friends that have existing accounts.
- Discovery. Publish information back into their friends' News Feeds on Facebook.
- Privacy. Bring dynamic privacy to your site using XFBML.
My interaction with Facebook Connect came through TechCrunch who have provided readers the ability to use their Facebook accounts to sign in before leaving comments. The obvious benefit is that no longer will you have to enter a name, email address and website manually to contribute. Instead by clicking the “Connect” button we're able to login using our Facebook account -
Hooking things up with Facebook also lets us display your profile portrait in miniature form next to your name in the header of comments. Your name conveniently links to your Facebook profile as well, making it easier for other commenters to get in touch with you and perhaps become your virtual friends.
But Facebook Connect doesn’t let information flow just one way. You can now post notifications of your comments to your Facebook wall whenever contributing here on TechCrunch. After hitting the “Add Comment” button, just select a type of feed item (which Facebook calls a “story”) and your friends on Facebook will have the chance to appreciate your snark and wit.[Source]
Facebook Connect hasn't disappointed with the functionality available, what I expected from the development has been delivered. Being able to use our Facebook login to access Facebook’s partner web sites, then broadcast what we are doing on those sites to everyone on Facebook is very appealing. Considering the amount of services and social networks available a single login ID makes sense.
Facebook, MySpace and Google I feel are the main contenders, there are many other names but these three are in football terms Champions League. Looking to implement Facebook Connect over the weekend, Google Friend Connect didn't require any programming experience but I have a feeling from the development site this isn't going to be easy!
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