Facebook Launches Commenting Widget
Facebook launched its first social widget for use outside of Facebook's own site today: the Comments Box. The Comments Box is a comments widget that was built on top of Facebook Connect, and that will allow bloggers and publishers to easily implement a Facebook Connect enabled commenting system on their sites. A number of sites already used Facebook Connect to make it easier for their users to sign in to their services and leave comments, but this is the first time that Facebook itself ventures into this business.
Competition
Google, of course, already offers a similar service with Google Friend Connect, though this offers far more features than just the ability to leave comments. Google also allows users to sign in with an OpenID account, as well as with accounts from other vendors, including Yahoo and AOL. In the announcement, Facebook stresses that this is just the first of a number of social widgets based on Facebook Connect that the company is planning to release in the near future.
It is important to note that other commenting services like JS-Kit already allow users to use their Facebook Connect logins - something that Facebook actually acknowledges in its announcement.
Features
Publishers will be able to customize the widget and moderate comments, though it is not clear what this moderation will look like. Users without a Facebook Connect ID will also be able to leave comments, but we will have to wait and see how well Facebook's widget will be able handle the inevitable spam that will come with this.
One nice feature of the Facebook Connect widget is that your comments are not only posted to your Facebook profile, but that additional comments that your friends make on Facebook in reference to your comment will also appear on the originating site. This, as Nick O'Neill points out, is similar to what a number of blog plugins like IntenseDebate are doing with comments left on Friendfeed right now. For publishers, this also means that their content is going to get a wider exposure on Facebook.
However, while being able to use the Facebook Connect ID to sign into a comments system is nice, most publishers are probably looking for a system that can handle a wider range of sign-on credentials. Facebook is now a member of the OpenID Foundation, but the widget only supports Facebook Connect IDs.
Breaking out of the Silo
What is most important about this announcement, though, is that Facebook continues to open up its platform to third parties. Earlier this month, third-party developers got access to users' status updates, notes, and links. Now, Facebook is allowing bloggers and publishers to implement some of Facebook's core features outside of Facebook's own site. Facebook use to be a closed off silo, but this is changing rapidly right now and it will be interesting to see how Facebook's users will react to this.
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Great move by Facebook.It's very hard to compete with GOOGLE.Wish you good luck.
I like how the guy in the demo video doesn't even stop to read his own TOS before hitting "agree". ;)
-nick / protagonize
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Maybe I didn't follow the news, does Google really let you sign in to their services with Yahoo/AOL credentials? Last time I checked they didn't. Agree, it's time to break the silos but I don't think it's going to be easy.
BTW, I like this friendfeed widget.
Striking similarities to Google Friend Connect features, but it's healthy competition.
Friend Connect had an edge by offering a widget-based toolkit, almost completely code free - which was far more attractive to non-developer oriented site creators, even over the potential of leveraging the (arguably) more popular Facebook data and services..
A few more of these and Facebook Connect could be huge.
http://hibbins.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/connect/
>>but that additional comments that your friends make on Facebook in reference to your comment will also appear on the originating site
i tested - the above isn't true.
From SO many add comment include intense debate and commentluv and NOFOLLOW comment I dont think facebook commenting plug-in has something "different to offer",I think with "brand facebook"they build this action try to explore what People vote about a thread and make research from the pattern and try to take a benefit from it
The question is, who owns those comments? Facebook or my site?
You failed to mention Disqus - which already implmented Facebook Connect - and is a more robust commenting platform using the same technology
It will be interesting to see how the issues of moderation and spamming will evolve with the use of the new commenting widget. On balance, it is positive that Facebook is opening up some of its content. Then again, third-party widgets are always problematic since they are guaranteed to infringe on your brand, regardless.
Facebook posts are just like YAWN!!!!! let's move on, facebook is FINITO
this is gonna be huge for facebook. see my take at adsonfacebook.wordpress.com
Facebook launched its first social widget for use outside of Facebook's own site today: the Comments Box.
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I think it's important, but it's definitely not breaking out of the silo. It's the reverse. It's just bringing more content into the silo.
1) The recent TOS that was released was showing the hand that they want to control the content. I'd rather not give my comments to Facebook to control. They were on my site, I'll keep them, thank you.
2) There's currently no easy setup to sync the content with your own site and keep a copy of them on your own site. This means that once the data is in their area, it's theirs (or at least they want it to be).
I've written more at http://blog.perfectspace.com/2009/02/20/facebook-comment-widget-quick-review/ . Feel free to give me your feedback on my thoughts.
Thanks for the article ~
Everything that Facebook does is really innovative. They make mistakes periodically but then quickly detract them.
What I have noticed most about Facebook is their commitment to digital security. I think that anyone that is going to try to compete with the is going to have to meet that challenge of standard.
Found some interesting facts on this site: http://www.justaskgemalto.com.
I was wondering if you might touch on the topic of what it takes to meet minimum and above minimum requirements for safety for users.
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That would hardly be considered user friendly for the average Facebook user that knows nothing about code snippets and where to put them and what they do. Besides the fact that having every persons opinion on your site may be a bad idea. Pluralitis run amok. Geeks never stop to think beyond the snippet!