Facebook Connects Your Brand Across the Social Web

I attended the Facebook f8 developer conference yesterday in San Francisco and I'm still recovering from the overwhelming experience.

Thousands of developers flocked to the San Francisco Design Center to see their Social Sherpa in person and calibrate with his vision for the next year of propagating the social graph. It's indeed a movement and his influence can not be underestimated. Comparisons to Steve Jobs were broadcast as freely as the ideas that were exchanged in almost every conversation.

I was lucky enough to get a front row view for Zuckerberg's state of the social network and his plans for making Facebook more pervasive in the socialization of online content.

Facebook is aiming to become our dashboard for relationships and everything we do online, creating a cohesive and simplified connection between us to change and improve how we communicate.

Their mission is no small task, "Give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected."

One of the many announcements that was made at the company's second annual developer conference was Facebook Connect, and it just way well be the epicenter of our social activity.

With just a bit of code, Facebook Connect enables seamless integration with the Facebook identity system. For example, if you're commenting on a blog hosted on the MoveableType platform, you can login with your Facebook details and not only will your comment and link to your Facebook profile appear on the blog, the activity of commenting is also linked back into your activity feed. Digg, another example that was shared on stage, now supports FB Connect, making it possible for Diggers to logon using their Facebook ID and for each story they digg, the activity is documented back on their profile.

Facebook Connect partners include Amiando, CBS.com, CitySearch, CNET, CollegeHumor, Disney-ABC, Evite, Flock, Hulu, Kongregate, Loopt, Plaxo, Radar, Red Bull, Seesmic, Socialthing!, StumbleUpon, The Insider, Twitter, Uber, Vimeo and Xobni.

Yes, it's practically a direct competitor to the important OpenID system that has invested over the years in the education and development of unifying the social web - with one login. FB Connect however, assumes that you want a profile in its proprietary social network, which may or may not be a bad thing - it's ambitious to say the least. And, unlike OpenID, Facebook is not only your online identity, but as I've written about for two years, it is also the hub for your online brand. If Facebook is listening, I'm not alone in suggesting that the company should also integrate OpenID. It would be the right, and most promising, thing to do.

The social network now becomes portable and travels with you across the Web, placing you and your profile at the center of the experience.

This announcement is significant in my opinion,not just for the opportunity it represents today, but for the implementations and opportunities next month, next quarter, next year, and beyond.

With the ongoing integration of support for social services in the Facebook NewsFeed, personal lifestreams are quickly becoming representative of our true online activity, and it paints a vivid picture of who we are and what we represent online and in the real world. With FB Connect the isolated silo distributes your identity and creates a direct link back to your profile, which ultimately, is a bright and powerful beacon for your personal brand.

Facebook Connect also further socializes and unites the Web.

Now, for example, static Websites can socialize, creating a dynamic link between content and people. Businesses and communities can now directly connect corporate brands with personal brands, and more notable, the people behind them. Social networks can build and leverage expertise and reputation and carry thought leadership, preferences, causes, relationships from community to community. Facebook Connect is a powerful catalyst for investing in and increasing Social Capital.

Remember, Facebook "public" profiles are indexed in online search engines and can be among the top results when your name is searched.

In the real world, your online reputation proceeds you.

For more on the subject, please read:

Jeremiah Owyang

For more pictures from Facebook, please visit bub.blicio.us or the following albums on flickr:

Mark Zuckerberg Keynote

Mark Zuckerberg Press Conference