Archive for the ‘The Social’ Category
Facebook to open the gates with ‘Facebook Connect’ | The Social – CNET News.com
Posted on: May 10, 2008
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This post was updated at 1:56 p.m. PDT.
Social network Facebook announced Friday the debut of Facebook Connect, a new technology for members to connect their profile data and authentication credentials to external Web sites. It makes the company the latest major Web site to embrace the concept of data portability.
The formal announcement was made through a post on Facebook’s developer blog by senior platform manager Dave Morin, who has been one of the company’s most visible evangelists in the developer community over the past year. Facebook Connect will launch within the next few weeks.
Through Facebook Connect, members will be able to use their Facebook identities across the Web–profile photos, names, photos, friends, groups, events, and other information. Facebook profile content, for example, could appear on other social sites, and Facebook event listings could theoretically connect with external event and invitation services.
Facebook will handle the authentication process, and while privacy controls have not been made clear, the company has stressed that user security will be a priority. And there’s reason to believe Facebook will be particularly careful: The company already partners with outside services to share data in its Beacon advertising program, and the PR missteps surrounding Beacon’s launch are something that Facebook likely does not want to repeat.
It’s a big move for the site. Until this point, Facebook has had a reputation for keeping its cards close to its chest–even banning the account of popular blogger Robert Scoble when he used a script to export his Facebook contact list to Plaxo. But Facebook has a representative in the Data Portability Workgroup, and executives have said that Facebook has wanted to bring its information outside the site eventually.
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