If you look to the right of this post you may notice a little box standing out. This is the Google Friend Connect Social Bar. While Google Connect thus far hasn’t proven to be much a useful tool, the Social Bar is an interesting concept. Essentially this box allows you to see which of your contacts are visiting the same sites as you. Also, it can reveal people who visit the same sites as you. Essentially it can help you build a social network around the websites you use, which has a definite value added that other social networks have yet to address.
Want to add the Social Bar to your website? Google makes it rediculously easy. You simply go to their Friend Connect page and edit the look of your Social Bar. When you are done they give you custom javascript code, which you simply input in your website code, according to where you want it placed. It doesn’t get much easier than that! This is a great tool for those also working to build community around their website. While it may not be the most useful tool at this point, the underlying technology is definitely something we will be seeing more of.
[...] time it’s Google’s Web Elements. For those of you who read my blog article on Google Friend Connect Social Bar, this is very closely related. Simply put, rather than having to reinvent the wheel when you want [...]