Monday, April 27, 2009

Facebook: Breaking Point for Debates

The most important function of a social network is connecting people. Face book has become more than a networking site for young people to stay in touch. Started in 2004 by Harvard students who wanted to animate the black-and-white thumbnail photos of freshman directories, the site is the ninth most visited on the Internet, according to Nielsen/Net Ratings, and is used by nearly five million college students.
Because of its popularity, the site has become a flashpoint for debates about free speech, privacy and whether the Internet should be a tool for surveillance. It has gained importance by starting its communication thread through the comments option.
Face book has taken steps this year to expand its functionality by allowing outside developers to create applications that integrate with its pages. And now you can also add a Facebook Connect button to your site and blog. With this button you can login through your Facebook Account and can post comments on any site with this functionality.

To add this simple application, you need a website for which you control the code and have server access. In addition to this, you require the basic knowledge of JavaScript and HTML.

You can also check the Facebook Connect Plugin Directory, in case, if you use software like MovableType, WordPress, or Drupal. Along with this option, various plug-ins are also provided by independent developers. Several of them are available as open source as well. You can add, edit, and remove only the plugins you've created. When your plugin is available, you are free to edit any page and you can add a link and description to it.

There are various types of plug ins, like, WP-FB Connect WordPress Plugin. It adds login and commenting to your blog with Face Book Connect. This Plugin has a very basic start and proof of concept. It adds commenting to your blog via Facebook Connect like it was in www.iphoneappstore.us.

You can also use JS-Kit and Disqus if you are using third party tools for comments on your blog/site.