11 Dec 08 Leveraging Social Networks

You can let people access your site with their existing social network login details and add social features to your site by accessing the data shared by social networks. You can also tell these networks about a user’s actions on your site so activities will show up on the social sites.

This minimizes friction especially for new users, but also for returning users. New users don’t have to register for your site. Instead they can simply use their social network id to access your website. By sending user actions on your site back to the social network, for example, as news feeds, you get free advertising and access to prospective new customers.

Social Networking Sites

Enable your users to…

Seamlessly “connect” their Facebook account and information with your site
Connect and find their friends who also use your site
Share information and actions on your site with their friends on Facebook

Example: http://www.citysearch.com

You can log in to Citysearch with your Facebook username and password.
You can write reviews on CitySearch (and, if you allow it, Facebook Connect will put those reviews in your Facebook feed).
When you search for reviews about a place, your Facebook friends’ reviews will show up at the top of the list. Prioritizing your friends’ reviews over those of random strangers is by far the most useful thing we’ve seen anyone do with Facebook Connect.

Another Example: Techcrunch

If you run ads on Facebook with a clickthrough link to Facebook Connect, chances are you would increase your ROI since you:

a) Reduce friction with the sign up form

b)Increase trust through your association with Facebook

The Myspace Open Platform, in addition to MySpaceID, encompasses its OpenSocial-compatible app platform and the Post To MySpace sharing feature.

MySpaceID is similar to Facebook Connect. Sites can add various elements of MySpaceID to allow their users to log in via their MySpace credentials, display their profile information, and find MySpace friends who are using those sites. Starting early in 2009, MySpace claim they will add the other features that Facebook Connect has now, such as publishing activities from partner sites to MySpace, and syndicating MySpace activities to partner sites. MySpace will also allow partner sites to take new user registrations beginning with their MySpace credentials and basic profile information.

MySpace works with Google Friend Connect, allowing users to log in to sites that have implemented Friend Connect with their MySpaceID

Based on OpenID, visitors to a Website that adds Friend Connect code will be able to sign in using their Google, Yahoo, AIM, MyspaceID or OpenID usernames and passwords. The Websites will also be able to add any OpenSocial apps developed by third parties. And it supports the OAuth data portability standard.

Mixi.jp is Japan’s number 1 social networking site with over 15 million members (that’s 1 out of every 5 Japanese Internet Users) Their API supports the exchange of user profile data via OpenID. The service is also providing a mechanism for users of 3rd party sites to limit access to content elsewhere to visitors who are their friends on Mixi.

Gigya Socialize is an aggregation service that allows your users to connect with their Facebook, MySpace and other social networking friends on your site using a singe API. Your site can then tap into the APIs enabled by multiple social networks.

For more coverage on how to leverage social media, check out the feedgrowth post.

How would you leverage social networks?