Drupal, one of the most popular Content Management Systems (CMS), has gotten a lot more social with the release of a new module allowing users to authenticate using popular login standards like Facebook Connect or OpenID. The module, called Socialize, was developed by Gigya, a startup with experience in social media products, and Acquia, a company that builds and sells a custom commercial Drupal installation and related services.

“The Gigya Socialize Drupal module is a perfect complement to Drupal's social publishing features,” said Rooly Eliezerov, president and co-founder, Gigya. “The module makes it easy for any site built on Drupal to add powerful social features, including pushing content and user activity out beyond the site and into the social networks, driving interactivity and viral promotion.”

The Socialize module is a very useful addition to any site, allowing webmasters to allow and set up a login system that enables users to authenticate using their Facebook or MySpace credentials through the Facebook Connect and MySpaceID login standards, or the username and password from any OpenID provider. There are countless OpenID providers, with some big names like Google, Yahoo and AOL. This would allow users to register for a new site without setting up a new account and the developers claim that sites using the Socialize module have seen a 30 percent rise in registrations.

Gigya is a Palo Alto, CA-based startup specializing in social media that creates widgets and other tools for advertisers and publishers with interest in the new media. It's a venture capital-backed company raising $23.5 million in funding in three rounds. Acquia started with a commercial Drupal distribution offering some custom modules and other enhancements and has since diversified with a subscription service called Acquia Network and Acquia Search, a service for Apache Solr. The Andover, MA-based company is also backed by venture capital and has raised $15 million in two rounds.

“Content and community are the critical components of many Drupal websites and the Gigya Socialize Drupal module connects Drupal-based communities with the leading social networks on the web,” said Dries Buytaert, Drupal project founder and Acquia CTO. “Simplifying site authentication processes and integration with various networks and platforms can improve the user experience and extend the reach of every website.”