So you have Google Friend Connect... Now What?
It's been a while since I first integrated the Google Friend Connect gadgets in my blog (in June to be specific), and it has improved enormously since then. But I still find some problematic issues that needs to be fixed.
If you'll go now to the Google Friend Connect site, you'll be able to easily set your site and grab a piece of code to place in your site or blog. You can choose from several gadgets that Google already has, when the most attractive one is the "Members Gadget". By adding this one to your blog, you are allowing readers to join the site, see other people pictures, and basically to explore other members profiles. Friend Connect Members can add links to their profile with their favorite social networks, sites etc. This profile will go with them on each site they'll join, and anyone can see the full profile by clicking on a member picture. Google also allowing you to see a full screen view of all the members, for an easy browsing.
But now Google needs to ask themselves: what is the added value by placing this kind of gadget(s) on our sites. From few month experience with the Member Gadget & the Wall Gadget in my blog, I'm still struggling to find this one little feature that will make me go: Wow, I really needed that! True. You can learn more about your site visitors, but can you really connect with them?
You might will if Google will add:
- A member search engine
- The ability to track comments (for blog/site owner)
- The ability to send quick messages to each other, or one to all (again, for the blog/site owner)
- Customizable Member page
If I'll take my blog as an example, there is no way I'll be able to browse through all my 1,000+ site members. It's just too frustrating for me and for the people who check on this gadget. But if we had the option to search through the content or by a person name, it could have been much easier to find and discover stuff that we care about. I'm also thinking about relevance. Will it be able to connect me with others, based on similar interests?
The ability to track comments:
If you added the wall gadget, you probably noticed that there's actually a wall to each post where people can comment instead of the post itself (if they choose to). Unfortunately, Google is not sending you notifications when that happens, so it is most likely you won't see it (or won't see it in time). This should behave like a blog commenting system - someone wrote a comment, the blog author should be notified about that.
The ability to send quick messages:
I think this is a must have feature and needless to say, it's the real way to communicate with someone. Also, why not add the possibility to send one message to all members? (only by the blog author) This could be a good channel to send important notes, posts etc, by email. (but this means Google needs to let the users choose if to get/not get these messages)
Customizable Member page:
My guessing is that this will become an important zone to the people who added the Member gadget, why not allow them to upload their logo, and customize the page to be more pleasant to the eye. Right now, the back-office of each user looks better than this visible front page.
One last complaint: The invitation form is bad. You can't understand what people wants from you when it lands in your email. This need to be changed ASAP.
BUT, don't get me wrong... overall it's been an amazing opportunity for me to be the first that tried it, and I'll keep watching the progress. But has I've said: there's still room for improvement, especially in the functionality & UI side. I'm sure it will get better over the time.
BTW, Google Friend Connect looks like a perfect application for the iPhone, don't you think?
19 Comments:
Having tried very briefly the FC, I think the biggest problem with it is that it is not integrated to the blog: a FC sign on should amount to blog sign on, so any activity of the members would be an activity on the blog too. I had a quick look to Facebook Connect and they provide the mechanism for this, but no off the self application. One needs to write code. I guess we will soon see add ons and plugins for our blogging platforms that will support just this.
Just started, but already looking for same questions. But there is good outcome. After I integrated it in my blog, already found some good usage. And after some other blogs and pages in Latvia started using it as well.
From that point looking, I' m thinking to integrate in my English blog/site too.
In agreement with most of the above- the invitation is unclear- i sent some out yesterday and one friend responded " I know you have a website!" since there was nothing in the invite that mentioned friend connect! I also noted the unavailability of a notification system when new comments are posted. Without getting an email, I'm not going to check to approve postings any more that daily, in all likelihood.
Thanks always for your great tips and these too. I can feel your frustration for search and better more personal connectivity and have my own just navigating the FC links. While I'm much less in a rush to place on my site, have you contemplated what you might do with your little tribe with a focus on activity elsewhere? Perhaps I misunderstand the portability emphasis. If not, I'm curious how you've imagined our collective utility or if FC brings any sense of expanded influence? namaste
It makes sense from the perspective that a user can be a member of many different sites with one login. This has been an ongoing problem on the web, imho, and one of the primary factors stopping users from joining very small niche social networks, like on individual blogs, for example.
I see why Google is doing this, and obviously this is 1.0. I'm sure they'll be adding in the features you've requested. It's still very early.
I'm just not sure i'd put it on my site until those features are there.
I put in in my site two days ago and I felt exactly that way: «Now what?!»
The missing notifications is a major issue for starters.
It's early days yet. I just added FC to one of my sites in the hope that it would attract visitors to comment and discuss the content among themselves. I get reasonable trafic, and was hoping that visitors would just click to the idea and get going, but nothing so far. I think I need to add a blurb explaining what FC is and what people can do. I like the idea of creating mini forums for each page using the wall.
I think, as FC gets traction, people will recognize that they can interact with sites and they will be more open to doing so. Well, I hope.
Yes, but how to create a social networking experience for businesses on a site? Would a forum be enough these days?
Great points Orli. I think the vision is great, but I can't wait for some really compelling uses to emerge. I've added Friend Connect to my blog and am enjoying meeting new people this way, but there is a lot of room for improvement in how the members of a site interact.
Hello everybody
I've an issue in GFC that I added the code in my blogger blog but the gadget didn't appear , just a bold line appeared and i'm in need of using the GFC so I'll be grateful for your help.
thanks in advance
Inspite of friend Connect is just a practice platform of OpenSocial, but the membership system is very useful for statics.
I wrote 3 gadgets last night for first trial, "Hits Ladder", "Recently Reading Members" and "Top Time Elaspse Members".
If there is anyone interest in how to make larger useage of Google Friend Connect or try to find fun stuff for custom gadget for Friend Connect, you can vist my blog. I need your valuable opinios, thank you.
gene-hong.blogspot.com
Hi! Your website was the first website I discovered who had already implemented Google Friend Connect. I've recently added the gadget to my own Blog as well.
I can understand your problems, if you have so many friends then thing can get a little confusing and it's hard to keep track of your community members.
It would be great if Google would create some decent profile pages. It shouldn't be a problem. They already have the technology to do this, they can use there orkut platform.
Keep up this great blog.
Great on mentioning about the GFC, I also very impress on the traffic coming from GFC too, but still currently having 1 member on the GFC list, hope it will gain more. :)
You mentioned wanting a "Customizable Member page". I think all you need to do is edit the canvas.html file that google had you copy to your site when you first set up Friend Connect. I just changed the file on my site so that when you expand any gadget, it has the same look as the rest of my site. Go to studystack.com and expand the member gadget to see what I mean.
Hi
A good post - thanks. I have just added FC to my site - myedagent.com
I had many of the same 'what now?' thoughts.
For me, the ability to track comments feature is a must. After all, if part of the purpose of using it is to generate traffic anyone who posts should be notified of a response so that they are encouraged to come back to the site.
I've added the Wall and Members gadgets to my site, and I agree with your points: I've missed comments on the site as I was never notified when someone chose to comment there instead of the site's "normal" commenting engine, and the fact that you can't customize the canvas.html through some sort of WYSIWYG editor or customization wizard engine will put off a lot of adopters.
That being said, I do like the fact that I was able to grab the canvas.html (which you can see at dominoguru.com) and customize it myself. As a developer, it was easy enough to create my own canvas.html and get the same functionality while still maintaining my site's user interface. But again, I do this for a living, and this is targeted to adoption by non-geeks as well.
I have experimented with both Google Friend connect and Facebook connect.
I found Facebook connect much more practical in implementation. Although Google will have an advantage of more number of users but it's still in that 'now what?!' kind of a phase!
BTW..Happy New Year!
Very useful
Hi. I just started using GFC and I wonder, why is it that when we click on a friend's image in the comment box, a webpage opens with almost nothing on it.
It is this way on mine, and it looks like yours too. It seems awfully strange to make a link to nowhere... clicking on a friend's photo in the members gadget gives some info, but not on the wall gadget. Any ideas on this??
Thanks!
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