Facebook is borrowing some ideas from both Google+ and Twitter

Dec 8, 2011 14:15 GMT  ·  By

Facebook's 180-degree turn on one-sided follow model couldn't be more obvious. It went on for years about how the value of Facebook relationships was in both users involved 'friending' each other.

But when Google+ came about, with a Facebook-like profile and features but also a Twitter-like follower model, Facebook took notice.

It didn't take long for it to launch the Subscribe feature, which enables users to follow another user's public posts even if they're not friends. It brought Facebook on par with Twitter and Google+, but the big philosophical change needed time to take off on the site.

Facebook is serious about it though, it didn't launch a half-baked feature just to match Google+ and call it a day, instead it's working on adapting Facebook to the new idea.

One big step towards this is a Subscribe button for websites, a plugin, that is coming soon.

"We will soon launch the Subscribe plugin, an extension of the Subscribe button, that publishers and other developers can add to their web sites to make it easy for people to connect to reporters and public figures in one click. We have no further details to share at this time," the company said after Facebook's Joanna Shields revealed the feature at this year's LeWeb conference.

There's nothing new here, Twitter follow buttons are quite common and Facebook's subscribe button will work exactly the same.

It's interesting to see Facebook adapting to the new model, but it remains to be seen whether it's not too late. The company has generally led the way when it comes to social networking.

Google+, while coming with some unique features, is, by and large a copy of Facebook. Of course Facebook borrowed ideas and concepts from other sites as well.

But now that it is the big entrenched site and not the other way around, it remains to be see whether it can be as nimble as it once was and whether its 800 million strong user base adapts to an asynchronous friending model.