Later today Google is going to preview Friend Connect (it’s not live yet at http://www.google.com/friendconnect), a product that lets any website host OpenSocial applications. These applications will enable a site’s user to interact with their social network from other sites (assuming they are logged in). Initially users will be able to see their networks from Facebook (using their APIs), Google Talk, and Orkut. Future participants will include hi5 and plaxo.
Initially Google will be letting websites in slowly. Upon acceptance webmasters will be able to submit their website (URL and name) and select colors. They can then select applications for their site from a new application gallery.
The user experience is simple. When a user comes to a site in the Friend Connect program they can sign into any social network that is sharing their data. Their data is not actually shared with the site. Impressively Google is supporting OpenID and OAuth in addition to their own standard OpenSocial.
The name is practically the same as Facebook’s new program Facebook Connect, but the two are, at this point quite different. From the sound of it the yet-to-launch Facebook Connect will let users of different social networks (or apps that have social networks) link their accounts. The user can take their Facebook authentication, identity, social network and privacy settings to other sites. Unlike Facebook Connect, Friend Connect does not merge the data of any of the applicable social networks; they all remain in their individual data silos.
Those are issues that will come in time. The Google representatives (David Glazer, Engineering Director
and Mussie Shore, Product Manage) I spoke with were very open ended about how data might merge between sites in the future.
I was not super impressed at first blush. What real advantage does this offer to a site-owner if they aren’t able to tie their own content into the user base? It reminded me of Google Gadgets on any website announcement of 2006. However I spoke with Hadi Partovi, co-CEO of iLike, and now at least can see how and why artists might use Friend Connect. iLike runs an artist dashboard that lets artists “write once, publish everywhere”. This allowed 200,000 participating artists to update a number of social networks and sites, but up till now their personal website was not included.
At the CampfireOne tonight Google will launch the application gallery (don’t expect there to be too many) and some participating sites like http://www.ingridmichaelson.com/.
Google briefed a lot of sites on this release and there is more coverage at TechCrunch, CNET and Techmeme.