Google expands social networking ambitions

by Andrew McCormick Media Week 12-May-08, 15:30

LONDON - Google has made a play to become a leading social network provider by launching Google Friend Connect, an application that enables media owners to create social communities by embedding a piece of code on their website.

Websites signing up to Google Friend Connect will be able to offer users access to social network features such as profiles and message boards. It will also enable users to access personal profiles they have built on other social networks, such as Facebook.

In a statement, Google said that Google Friend Connect aims to break down barriers to social media spreading across the internet in two ways: firstly, the technology barrier preventing media owners from building their own communities and secondly, the nuisance for users of having to create profiles on multiple sites.

Now, a battle may commence over which company becomes the dominant player in providing social networking offerings to third party websites. MySpace has launched a similar initiative to Google Friend Connect, while Facebook is reportedly developing its own version.