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-Chris Vendilli
Author of the Pro From Go Internet Marketing Blog

Just a quick post to tell you Merry Christmas…

and a quick story.

A few days ago I was feeling particularly in the Christmas spirit and happened across two of Santa’s elves.  They were both on their way back to the N. Pole after a supply run.  They’d just picked up more odds & ends they needed to take back to the toy factory.

I stopped them and picked their brains about how Santa runs his day to day operations.  Their energy levels were intoxicating and they talked excitedly about their plans for mass producing all of the items at the top of every kids’ list.

But while in the midst of this very engaging conversation we all started feeling feverish… almost as if… something was coming over us…

The elves hooked me up with one of their outfits and we collectively decided to head out to the barn for some Egg Nog and good times.  And then… our feet… they just… started getting away from us…

It was all caught on the barn cam…

Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Chris Vendilli

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Less than two weeks ago Google released public access to it’s new Friend Connect platform.  Today the Google blog and the Twitter blog both announced integration between Google Friend Connect & Twitter.

Google Blog Announces Google Friend Connect & Twitter Integration:

@Twitter:  Welcome To Google Friend Connect

Twitter Blog Announces Google Friend Connect & Twitter Integration:

Friends In More Places

This is big news in the ongoing competition between Google Friend Connect and the Facebook equivalient:  Facebook Connect.

Google Friend Connect enabled sites will now have more sharing options & networking options with this new special announcement.  You’ll be able to quickly & easily find your Twitter friends via Google Friend Connect on sites where you’re both visitors.  You’ll also be able to quickly & easily invite your Twitter friends to check out new sites that you might mutually be interested in, using the user-friendly & aesthetically pleasing Google Friend Connect interface that will appear on sites using Google Friend Connect.

I was leaning towards integratin Facebook Connect with the Pro From Go blog and avoiding Google Friend Connect altogether, just to make things simple.  But after this new announcement, I’m considering integrating both options on my blog, to include Google Friend Connect & Facebook Connect, simply because I recognize the powerful bonuses that the Google Friend Connect & Twitter integration brings to the table.

What’s your opinion?  Please post your comments below…

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On December 4, 2008 Google unexpectedly announced the long awaited public release of it’s new “Friend Connect” platform.  But in an exciting twist, Facebook released their version of a similar platform ahead of schedule, in what seemed like an outright & very bold attempt at sending a clear message to Google.

Facebook said, “bring it on, FOOL!”

Facebook launched public access to Facebook Connect as well on December 4, 2008.  Each platform has it’s pro’s and con’s and I suspect the only way to determine which is the right choice will be a matter of testing, tracking, and considering the user base of each potential website.

Facebook Connect

Personally, I’m leaning towards integrating Facebook Connect with Pro From Go.  As I’ve been tinkering around I’m discovering that getting Facebook Connect working properly on your site, especially on a WordPress blog, is a bit easier said than done.

The Facebook Connect platform is powered by a new markup language referred to as XFBML (Facebook Markup Language).  This markup language is described as “an extension to HTML” and the related tags along with their uses can be seen at the Facebook Developers Wiki located here:

http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/XFBML

Once of the immediately noticeable cons of going with Facebook Connect versus Google Friend Connect is that at first glance, Facebook Connect is slightly more challenging to setup with your site.  However, consider that access to Facebook’s 130 million+ user base is just around the corner once you setup Facebook Connect and I think we could both agree it just may be well-worth the little bit of aggravation!

Some of the other benefits of using Facebook Connect is that you’ll be able to add a trusted & widely recognized brand to your website, by way of the “Facebook Connect” logo.  I highly suspect it will become more & more prominent on some of the sites we’re used to visiting every day.

Some of the Facebook Connect launch partners have already been dabbling with a few of the features for several months!  Until now, Facebook Connect was only available to a limited few… but since Facebook saw Google Friend Connect fast-approaching in the rear-view mirror they kicked it up a gear, to “open beta.”

Facebook Connect - Publish To Facebook Profile Feature

Some additional benefits of using Facebook Connect include but are not limited to trusted authentication (secure login to your site via Facebook), users sharing their real identity information (less cases of “internet tough guy”), the ability to share with friends on sites outside of Facebook, portable privacy options (Facebook Connect will honor privacy settings from the user’s Facebook account nearly everywhere they go!), and social distribution (my favorite).

Facebook Connect - Invite Friends Feature

Facebook Connect users will have the option to publish stories back to their Facebook accounts, where they will be highly visible to other Facebook users.  On top of being able to publish stories & even comments back to their profiles, they’ll also be able to invite their Facebook friends to come check out the Facebook Connect-enabled sites they happen across.

So, that means once a Facebook user happens across your Facebook Connect enhanced website or blog and likes what they see - they’ll have the ability to invite their other Facebook friends to come over and visit as well!  This is basically a free way to pour somewhat “viral” traffic onto your site.

More benefits, features, & “getting started” instructions & documentation on Facebook Connect can be found here:

http://developers.facebook.com/connect.php

Although I’ve spent the majority of this post raving about Facebook Connect I don’t want to leave anyone thinking that Google Friend Connect is destined to be some sort of slouch.  From my limited knowledge of Google Friend Connect I feel there’s a few powerful benefits that are going to give Facebook Connect a tough fight.

Google Friend Connect

The main benefit of Google Friend Connect appears to be the ease of use & hassle-free installation.  From what I’ve seen, setting up Google Friend Connect on your site is basically a matter of “copy & paste.”  Another great benefit of Google Friend Connect is that signing up on a site via Google Friend Connect might be a bit simpler than it would be for a non-Facebook user to start taking advantage of features accessible via Facebook Connect.

You can sign up for Google Friend Connect here:

http://www.google.com/friendconnect/

Another great link with more information (the “Official” Google Blog), a recent post by Mussie Shore:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/friend-connected-web.html

I must say I’ve not yet had the chance to fully explore Google Friend Connect but I just wanted to include it in this post as it’s a very viable & realistic competitor to Facebook Connect.  But, as it stands and everything having been said… my sights are set on Facebook Connect as the way to go for anyone looking to take advantage of what might be our first clear glimpse at Web 3.0.

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