5 Sites I Want to See Integrated With Facebook Connect
On Nov. 18, Citysearch.com announced it was launching a beta site that used Facebook Connect as an optional identity system and immediately became relevant again in its competition with Yelp and Yellowpages.com. Facebook Connect allows websites to give site visitors the option to login with their FB credentials rather that keep a unique profile for that site. Going forward we will see alot more of this.
- Single Identity - Site visitors have spent alot of time building their identity on Facebook. Why shouldn't they be able to contribute to that identity on other sites?
- Facebook Integration - FB Connect is more than an identity system, it will allow tie backs into Facebook. For example, when a FB user leaves a review on Citysearch it will create an entry on that person's FB timeline allowing the user to inform his network.
- Network Contextual Information - Interested in reviews from a local restaurant? A site with a large number of reviews of that restaurant is great, but a site that gives you the reviews by your FB network, the people you trust, is awesome! No more asking people what they think of this place; you can find their opinions on Citysearch.
- More Visitors! - This is the bottom line for any web site trying to get traffic. FB Connect integrated sites create a compelling value proposition for FB users to use the site over competitors and, more importantly, tell their friends about it. This means more traffic.
The sound you hear is Yelp scrambling to integrate FB Connect before Citysearch steals their visitors.Citysearch is just the tip of the iceberg, the power and possibilities are endless. Here are some of the FB Connect integrations that I want to see.
- SKYPE - Do I ever want to see my Skype account be linked to my Facebook account! That way I can see all of my FB Network in my Skype Contact list (with their profile photos). Even better, integration gives us a better chat utility and adds voice and video communication to my FB network. Yes please!
- AMAZON.COM - When shopping I want to know about the reviews of my FB network on specific products.
- TICKETMASTER/LIVE NATION - Concerts are a big part of my leisure time and it would be great when I buy a ticket that my network is immediately notified that I am going to a certain concert (and vice versa). Furthermore, I would be more likely to give reviews of those concerts that I saw.
- LOCATION BASED SOCIAL NETWORK - Another service slow to take off due to another login and identity. If I was a mobile social network I would integrate this yesterday, buy a swath of Facebook banner ads, and suddenly have a massive new audience for my location-based network. Imagine being notified that your FB friend with a GPS phone is having coffee down the street. That is relevant information that I want to know.
- DELICIOUS - Delicious is difficult to expand beyond early adopters precisely because people don't want another login. Social Bookmarking could be huge if it could come to the masses; FB Connect may do this. If it takes off, it could create a real competitor to Google search.
