Dec 2, 2008

Business - Facebook Connect Tracks Friends Across the Web

Jennifer LeClaire

Facebook is looking to resurrect its Beacon platform, this time with a little less controversy. Dubbed Facebook Connect, the company describes the new service as the next iteration of the Facebook platform that allows users to connect their Facebook identity, friends and privacy to any site.

This opens the door for third-party Web sites to implement and offer more Facebook features, such as showing a user which of their friends also have accounts on a site.

"In a certain way, this is the return of Facebook Beacon," said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. "The difference is Beacon was an advertising program. If you took some sort of action on a third-party site while you were signed into Facebook, that action would be broadcast back to your friends. People got upset about it because they weren't fully aware they were exposed in that way."

Beacon vs Connect

Indeed, Facebook drew the ire of thousands of its users just a year ago with Beacon. Fifty thousand Facebook members signed a MoveOn.org petition over a 10-day period asking the site to respect user privacy.

Like Connect, Beacon was positioned as an option to share actions on other sites with friends on Facebook. But Connect does not have an advertising component.

Here's how it works: Members can log onto other Web sites using their Facebook username and password and see what their friends are doing on those sites. Connect also lets users keep their friend network up to date about what they are doing on those sites. Facebook's initial lineup includes the Discovery Channel, the San Francisco Chronicle, Digg, Geni and Hulu, according to a report in The New York Times.

"Connect remedies the issues with Beacon in the sense that you would use your Facebook log-in on the other sites, so you are presumably conscious that this information is going to be exposed to your network on Facebook," Sterling said. "This can be valuable for users."

The Value of Connect

Specifically, Sterling sees value coming from two directions. First, it saves users from potentially having to create and remember dozens or scores of usernames and passwords. Facebook Connect, then, becomes a competing service to OpenID, a decentralized identity system that allows users to log onto many sites with the same identity.

Facebook users might also benefit from recommendations or reviews of products and services their friends have already experienced. Practically speaking, a Facebook member could let friends know about watching a video at Hulu and invite them to join in. Facebook friends could gather in real time and comment as the video rolls.

"Since there is no advertising relation, it should insulate Connect to some degree against some of the criticisms Beacon experienced," Sterling said. "You can selectively use Connect on some sites, but not others. So you can control how much information your friends have about your activities on other sites."

The Social-Ad Dilemma

One thing Connect won't do: Help Facebook on the advertising front. Facebook is not alone in its quest to beef up advertising revenue.

IDC reports social networks are struggling to find an effective way to help advertisers cash in on their traffic. Less than 60 percent of all social networkers clicked on an ad in the past 12 months, according to IDC, and only 11 percent of those clicks converted to a sale.

"Connect still doesn't solve Facebook's problem of how to do advertising in a more effective way," Sterling affirmed, "but it's a way to get a broader reach across the Web."

13 comments:

darmik said...

Hail to the Thieves

So interesting that a short time ago Microsoft (A closed source company) wanted to push forward a standard (Passport) that would have give users the ability to have one log in that worked for many sites. At the time many in the tech and development community saw this as just another Microsoft Land Grab for our Identity and our Content. Many people saw Passport as a Microsoft effort to finally gain control of the internet by becoming the standard for digital identity.

Today we have no less than 3 closed source companies in a race to become the "Standard" for holding or Identity and therefore having access to the content that we read and the content that we creates.

All of this at a time when there are many Open Source standards that could be used (Openid is just one that comes to mind) that if properly deployed would do the right thing by putting the user/member in charge of their log in as well as their relationships across many sites.

Have we forgotten the lesson of the not so distance past ?

Why do we not see a problem with the big 3 trying to become the proprietary standard in this very important area ?

Why do developers especially Open Source developers continue to build and extend applications for closed source companies that under mind open source standards and ideals ?

Why do users continue to view giving control of their identity and content to these companies as a win, when in fact the win is clearly on the side of the company that you have allowed to take control of your identity and to generate value and revenue from your content. In return for our compliance we do not even have a right to take our identity and our content where we want.

At adelph.us we believe in members freedom to control their accounts, and their content. We also believe that any revenue model should always put the members in the equation first. We believe in the Open Source community and ideals. We know we are not the smartest guys in the room and trust the our community of members and developers.

Break the chains of the old web 2.0 model. Do not give your content or your software development work to closed source old world companies they only seek to profit from you

Anonymous said...

Hey therе! Dо yοu knoω if thеy make any plugіns to protect against hackers?
І'm kinda paranoid about losing everything I've workeԁ hаrd on.
Anу recommendations?

Feel fгеe tο viѕit my
site :: salomon womens running shoes
Feel free to surf my weblog ; minimalist running shoes

Anonymous said...

Admіrіng the dedicаtion уou put
into уouг blog and ԁetаіled information уоu presеnt.
It's awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn't the same old rehaѕhеd materiаl.
Fаntastiс rеаd! I've saved your site and I'm adԁing your RSS feeds to my Google aсcοunt.


Αlѕo ѵisit my homеpage: Electronic Cigarettes Starter Kit
Here is my web site - Vapor Ultra E-Cigarettes

Anonymous said...

Tеrrifiс ρost howevеr I was wοndеring if you
coulԁ write a litte mοre on thіs topіc?
I'd be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Many thanks!

Here is my blog - www.www.questionnow.in
Also visit my blog post : Top Electronic Cigarettes

Anonymous said...

Greetings! I've been following your weblog for a while now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from New Caney Tx! Just wanted to say keep up the excellent work!

my web page - cargo Pants for men

Anonymous said...

I was curious if you ever thought of changing the layout of your website?
Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
But maybe you could a little more in the
way of content so people could connect with it better.

Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or 2 images.

Maybe you could space it out better?

My web page: verawangshoes.org

Anonymous said...

Hi! I'm at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the great work!

my page - Methadone Clinics In Ma
Also see my website > Methadone Clinics

Anonymous said...

Hello! I understand this is somewhat off-topic but I needed to ask.
Does managing a well-established blog such as yours require a large amount of work?
I am brand new to writing a blog but I do write in my journal everyday.
I'd like to start a blog so I will be able to share my personal experience and thoughts online. Please let me know if you have any recommendations or tips for brand new aspiring blog owners. Appreciate it!

Check out my weblog Best Dark Spot Corrector

Anonymous said...

Terrific post however , I was wondering if you could
write a litte more on this subject? I'd be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Kudos!

Also visit my web page ... 93 dodge cummins for sale

Anonymous said...

Today, I went to the beachfront with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my
4 year old daughter and said "You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear." She put the shell to her ear
and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.
She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely
off topic but I had to tell someone!

Look into my web page: hawaii green tea

Anonymous said...

Hello! I'm at work browsing your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the outstanding work!

My site; http://Www.allaboutcargopants.com/are-cargo-pants-for-men-in-the-radar-once-again

Anonymous said...

I love what you guys tend to be up too. This kind of clever work and
exposure! Keep up the excellent works guys I've you guys to blogroll.

My site; printable 7th grade math worksheets

Anonymous said...

Hey! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin
for my comment form? I'm using the same blog platform as yours and I'm having problems finding one?
Thanks a lot!

Feel free to visit my web blog; Catering Menus With Prices