Google is slowly unveiling their version of social networking. It’s a little bit different than MySpace, FaceBook, etc but makes it easy to connect your favorite sites with your friends and makes it really easy for brands to create a community on their site.
Google Friend Connect also integrates contact lists from other social networks and users can login using their existing Google, Yahoo, AIM, or OpenID account. Basically if you see Google Friend Connect on a site, log in and you’ll see your friends popup and then you’ll have the ability to invite them to join the site.
This is a really interesting, traffic driving technique although the aesthetics aren’t very pleasing. We’ll just have to wait and see if/how Google will make money from it.
Check it out! – or – See it in Action!
2 Comments
Google tried social networking with their launch of Orkut back in 2004 but it never gained the traction that myspace and facebook did. I do see this as different than “just another social network” as it empowers site owners to create small communities around their own sites rather than the massive communities like Facebook and Myspace.
Looks like Google is now blocked from Facebook:
http://valleywag.com/390985/facebook-just-not-that-into-google-friend-connect
That sure won’t help Google gain adoption….