14 DAY TRIAL // Google Friend Connect is gathering more support as it has announced that Netlog have integrated it with their social networking service. Google Friend Connect provides users with a common log-in and a way to keep “connected” with their friends across multiple sites and services and it is Google's answer to Facebook Connect.
Google Friend Connect already supported a multitude of log-in standards including the search giant's, but also Yahoo, AIM and OpenID, and the new partnership with Netlog will allow their users to log in to any site supporting Google Friend Connect as well as take advantage of the large network of people already using it. The Mountain View-based company is trying to be as open as possible with the standard hoping that by gaining a wider acceptance Google Friend Connect will become the standard of choice. Anyone can install Google Friend Connect on their blog or site and Google has focused on making it as easy as can be for even the most non tech-savvy of users. This has made it popular on many small and niche sites along with the big players currently supporting it like Google, Yahoo, Twitter, AOL, orkut, and Plaxo.
The Google blog post announcing the event listed some of the advantages this brings to Netlog's users:
- Sign into any of the millions of sites and blogs using Friend Connect with their Netlog credentials - Use their Netlog profiles on these sites - See if any of their friends are already members of the same sites and invite other Netlog friends to join - Share their Friend Connect activities with their friends on Netlog, and - Send messages back to their Netlog friends
Netlog, with 45 million users worldwide, is the fastest-growing social network in Europe with a strong presence in Eastern Europe and the Middle-East. Though small by comparison to MySpace or Facebook, with their 200 million plus users, the announcement can still be seen as a good victory for Google if it is to compete with the currently much bigger Facebook Connect.