Google Friend Connect adds some social sauce with new Gadgets but there are better options to serve the needs of your ideal guests. This post addresses a few of the new gadgets and better alternatives.

Friend Connect Widget

Google Friend Connect is featured in the side bar on this blog. Until now, Friend Connect Widget has just been a handy way to share your Google Profile Business Card with other Google members. I like the idea of connecting with other fans of Websites using Friend Connect, especially now that Google Profiles are becoming a central nexus for Social Search.

Better Alternative to Friend Connect: I still think Facebook Fan Boxes have a lot more to offer most people in the tourism industry. We use the Facebook Fan boxes on our Tourism Web site to instantly update content. Fan boxes have also attracted quite a few new fans to our Facebook presence.

Social Ribbon Bar

Google offered the Social ribbon bar a while back. I didn’t like it then, I don’t like it now.

Better Alternative: Steer clear of Ribbon Bars. (I also don’t like those Ow.ly tracking bars in Twitter Links folks! I want you to share the valuable links, not broadcast that you are tracking me!)

Interests Poll

Google Interests Poll on the surface looks like a nice social invitation to share your interests . . . . but the description is just too creepy for me to recommend.

The Interests poll helps Google Target Adwords

The content entered by users is added to their Google Profile. We all knew Google was tracking us, but Google doesn’t even give the Widget a description that focuses on the benefits of using the Interests Poll. The sole benefit seems to be to encourage users to generate social interactions so Google can glean more information from users.

Better Alternative: Not sure, got any ideas? This description certainly got me more interested in What Google Knows about me. It is interesting that Google also released the Google Privacy Dashboard so I can control these settings.

Newsletter Email News Sign up Widget

Newsletter Gadget is a valiant effort that falls short because it’s a few years late arriving on the scene. The gadget and associated Newsletter compose and send tool allow users to create, send and manage your newsletters. Users can subscribe to your newsletter when joining your site or via the newsletter gadget. If you are just getting started with an email newsletter, this might be a good place to start. It’s free and looks simple to impliment.

Better Alternative: This service would be infinitely more valuable if one could merge your current email newsletter database into this one. It is also worth considering that in the age of blogs and feeds the best option for most people is the Feedburner Email Widget that I use on this blog to automatically send subscribers blog posts by email.

Event Invitations

The Event Gadget is another late offering from Google that replicates what has been possible with Facebook Groups and Fan Pages for years. With 300+ million users Facebook has a huge advantage over Google and this feature won’t help Google close the gap.

Better alternative: Facebook Fan Pages or Facebook Groups

Commenting Widgets

Google is including new options for using Google Connections to manage commenting on your blog on popular platforms like WordPress. Google also offers a sidebar widget to encourage visitors to leave comments. The nice thing about these comments is they can appear on every page across your site. In the end, you’ll determine if this widget is worth using. The jury is out…. and it’s you.

Google may have gotten this one right. Instead of commenting on the bottom of this post, leave a comment in the new Google Gadget at right and your comment will appear on every page of this blog. Now that is something that could add value for the ideal reader of this blog! Care to try it out?

Better alternative: full fledged commenting tools for blogs are done very well by Disqus

Google Explains the new features of Friend Connect:

To say I’m excited about Facebook Fan pages would be the understatement of the year. Ever since Google extended social networking to your Web page with Google Profiles and Google Connect I’ve been waiting for Facebook’s response.

Finally, Facebook goes beyond the Walls

It’s taken a while, but by using Facebook Fan Boxes (Embeddable Facebook Pages), businesses can leverage Facebook platform in a number of ways without needing to be a code monkey.

Three Reasons to Celebrate Facebook on your Site

This new widget is a huge opportunity to: Grow your following, build credibility, and keep current!

• Instant Opt-in: grow your opt-in audience with one-click access to becoming a Fan. Users of Facebook Fan Pages already know how easy it is to update Fans updates whenever you have something to share.
• Credibility Plus: build credibility by showcasing your fans on your Web page
• Keep your site Current: instantly update your Web page or blog by simply updating your Facebook status.

How to set-up Facebook Fan Boxes:

Look under your fan page for the link to your Fan Box – embeddable widget.

Copy the embed code, paste into your blog or Web site

Voila, Facebook on your site.

Summary:

Facebook Fan Boxes definitely up the ante against Google FriendConnect. The biggest enhancement Facebook brings is status. By comparison, Google’s widget offers a business card approach to networking, but without status updates (I’m sure it will come along soon). I’ve already dropped it on our blog and home page at Northern Edge Algonquin to integrate Facebook status updates and Fans into our home page. How will you use Facebook Fan Boxes to grow your business?

Links:

• Mashable article on Facebook Fan Boxes: Embeddable Facebook Pages
• Google Profile and Google Connect are Game Changers

Google Friend Connect now allows folks to connect using a variety of OpenID tools. This can’t help but make it easier for folks to network with others on blogsites that use Google Friend Connect to help people connect with others across a variety of blogs and Web sites.

Learn more about the value of Google Profiles and Google Friend Connect.

Having just spent the better part of an hour signing up for a variety of services across Web sites, I can see the value of having a standard easy way of signing up to be a part of a community. The less keystrokes, the better, and having one username and password that I can use across a variety of sites puts Google Friend Connect a few more steps ahead of Facebook Connect in social networking across the Web.

Google is also slowly adding features to the Google Profile and has added a contact info tab and sharing controls (see below) so that users can limit access to contact information to their only their closest contacts if they wish.

Got an OpenID, Yahoo account or Google Profile, you are just one click away from joining other Tourism Internet Marketing folk by being a Google FriendConnect member of this blogsite.

Google Profile and Google Friend Connect Take Social Networking beyond the Walled Garden

Google has slowly added more and more services to google accounts. In essence, the creation of Google’s Friend Connect alongside Google Profile is a social networking game changer. Your social profile goes with you wherever you go! This is in stark contrast to Facebook’s “Walled Garden” approach which has kept all user activity inside the Facebook domain, until now.

Facebook’s rushed release yesterday of Facebook Connect tools for developers (one hour after Google Friend Connect was released) is evidence that Facebook needs to act quickly. Unfortunately for Facebook, Google’s widget is dead simple to install and with it, Google account users can share their profiles with one click. On the other hand, Facebook Connect is developer friendly, which means in short it’s doomed.

Facebook has a lot of work to do, and they aren’t taking Google’s foray into Social Networking lightly. Neither should you.

Use your Google Profile as your business card

A Google Account is now an important social networking tool. Your Google Profile is your online business card; your travelling Social Profile beyond the Walled Garden.

You might have an “about” page on your blog, but your Google Profile ties together your complete Web presence and travels with you anywhere you go.

First: Clean up your profile. Describe what you do and link to your social profile including blogs, photo libraries, web sites, any online tools you use. Chris Brogan’s recent post alerted me to the existence of my Google Profile and it’s a great place for more information on what your Google profile is.

You can access your Google Profile here.

Enhance your profile by taking the time to:

• craft a short description about yourself including links to your most relevant content.
• add your favourite photos to a Picasaweb.com account.
• create a map or two (Mymaps tab) and update your business listing on Google Maps.
• link to your most impressive online resources including youtube channel, podcasts you produce and your Web sites.
• comment on relevant businesses listings on Google.com/local.

If you are already using gmail, you have a profile – it’s probably not very complete. If you have commented on google.com/local aka, Google Maps, your comments are shown with a link to your profile. If you have created a Google MyMap, your profile includes these maps when linked from Google.com/local.

Your Google Profile is bigger than you think!

Your Profile, when accessed via Google Maps link shows your Reviews and MyMaps:

This is part of the brilliance of Google and it’s implementation of Google Profile:

“Google shows your relevant profile information depending on where you are active”

Connect with Friends

Your Google Profile is also linked to Google’s new Friend Connect widget. When you become a member of a blog community your profile shows your descriptive paragraph, relevant links, and “Sites you have Joined” along with a link to your more complete profile.

(see the Tourism Keys Friend Connect widget at right and with one click join the community here!)

It doesn’t take a giant leap to understand the value of joining relevant blog communities with a strong personal profile. Other members of the blog and visitors will learn all about you by reading your profile after clicking on your avatar or better, your photo.

This also raises the value of taking the time to leave great comments on relevant blogs!

Link to your Shiny New Google Profile url

When you are happy with your new business card, be social with it and link to your profile on:

• blogs,
• profile pages on facebook and other social networks
• twitter profile
• blog comments
• business proposals
• email signature lines, etc.

Just copy and paste the url for your profile. It will have a unique address like mine: http://www.google.com/s2/profiles/117194823555757103508?hl=en

Create Multiple Profiles (if you really feel a need to)

On a previous post, I made a strong case for using your real name as your username on Web 2.0 Services. I stand by this recommendation! However, for information purposes, you need to know that users can create multiple identities with multiple Gmail Addresses. For instance you might create a business card for your business enterprise along with one for your name.

Google’s Profile coupled with Friend Connect is a serious game changer.

How ready are you to use your shiny new Google Profile?