On May 12th Google announced one of the biggest changes in the way that social networking is going to happen - thanks to their new service called Google Friend Connect.
This concept is taking all of the best components of social networking, the concept of web 2.0, and VIRAL marketing and integrating all of these components into one application.
I took some time to review Google’s site and within minutes I had a ton of ideas to take some of my old, static websites and turn them into vital, growing online COMMUNITIES with just one simple piece of code! There is NO programming whatsoever either.
Check out this video to see an example of this this program is going to change the way the web works.
Some other highlights and thoughts about Google Friend Connect:
- It lets you grow traffic by easily adding social features to your website. With just a few snippets of code, you get more people engaging more deeply with your site.
- Attract more visitors. Visitors bring along friends from social networks like Facebook, orkut, and others to interact on your site.
- Enriches your site with social features. Choose engaging social features from a catalog of gadgets provided by Google and the OpenSocial developer community.
- No programming whatsoever. Just copy and paste snippets of code into your site, and Google Friend Connect does the rest.
- Google Friend Connect integrates with contact lists for social networks like Facebook, orkut and Google Talk. This means users who join your site are instantly connected with friends who are already members, and can invite friends from other networks to visit. They can opt in to broadcasting their activities to friends in their social networks. A post to your message board, for example, can instantly be visible to people in multiple social networks, along with links leading to your site. These instant networks, combined with the wealth of OpenSocial gadgets, can form potent new online communities, very quickly and very easily.
- Friend Connect brings friends-of-friends to your site. There are two easy ways for members of your site to bring their friends:* Invitations. Clicking on the invite link presents your visitors with all their contacts and friends from their social networks. Invitations are delivered to friends within their respective social networks.
* Activity feeds. Your visitors may also opt-in to publishing activities to their social networks. A post to your message board, for example, can instantly be visible to people in multiple social networks, along with links leading to your site.
Some quick examples of how to use Google Friend Connect
- A cooking site - Review a recipe and provide comments which clarify or improve it. Add a recipe to a social recipe box that appears across multiple cooking sites.
- A musician’s site - Post pictures from your latest concert on the band’s site, and communicate directly with your fans.
- An extreme sports site - Play a motor cross game, then compare your score to friends and other site members.
- An academic site - Discuss and review articles in context with colleagues and the broader community. Filter the discussion to colleagues only, or widen your view. Forge connections with new participants whose comments seem particularly insightful.
- A shopping site - Read expert reviews and tips right next to the camera you’re thinking of buying, and find a friend who has already purchased the same item.
- A philanthropic site - Cultivate a community around your cause, post pictures at fund raisers, let donors connect, and involve their friends.
Bottom line? Get ready for Google Friend Connect!
Go to their website and get signed up to be part of the preview community at http://www.google.com/friendconnect
