Qual o próximo passo na evolução social da Web?

Segundo o gigante Google, é o seu novo produto Friend Connect, que permite a qualquer site ter a sua própria rede social. Isto possibilita aos visitantes de determinado site conhecer outros visitantes e, consequentemente, partilhar interesses comuns. Com esta ferramenta, o Google abre o universo das redes sociais a qualquer página web.

O artigo
New Google Service Makes Web Pages Social

By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 12, 2008; 9:43 AM

To socialize these days, hundreds of millions of people every month turn to social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook.
But what if the Web itself worked as a social network?
Google announced today another step in what its engineers see as that inevitable evolution. A new free service from the Mountain View, Calif., tech giant will allow any Web site to become a social site.
Using Google's new Friend Connect product, any Web page, whether it is devoted to curling or pizza or a folk singer, can allow visitors to make and connect with other "friends" who visit that site. Like any major social network today, any Web page using Friend Connect could easily present to each user the names and pictures of friends and potential friends. Those people could then post messages to one another.
The announcement from Google comes at a time of ferment and speculation over how people will socialize on the Web.
While large social networks such as Facebook and MySpace are judged to be worth billions, they have also drawn criticism for being "walled gardens" -- places that allow members to connect easily only while at those sites.
The Friend Connect service raises the possibility that the kind of kibitzing now largely contained in a handful of mega-sites could be easily spread anywhere.

in The Washington Post - Technology


A citação

"We're in the middle of a huge change. Wherever people go on the Web, they want to have their friends with them, and this makes it possible."
- David Glazer, um dos engenheiros a trabalhar nesta iniciativa do Google.