Google Friend Connect + Travel Websites = :-)

I just received my beta invitation this morning for Google’s Friend Connect, social network widget platform.  I have been waiting for this for a while, and here is why:

1. Friend Connect allows website owners to drop the social widgets into websites that are not socially aware.  By this I mean that you can add social networking to your blog or even to your corporate site.

2. The user management is handled by Google and uses Yahoo, Open ID, and Google user logins.  This means that most users will not have to sign-up for another login account on your social site.

3. You can build your own widgets to add into your site (and potentially others).  This means social widget distribution is open to anyone who wants to create a cool widget to add on their own site or potentially others.  Basically, this could be anything from a feed reader to a more complex ratings, reviews, photo sharing, or intinerary building app.  The potential for the breadth and depth of widgets is huge, even more so then Facebook or LinkedIn.

4. It adds a whole level of interaction that was missing from blogs and other sites for a long time.  For example, corporate sites might consider adding the widget to their corporate blogs to make the interactions a little more personal.  Uptake.com for example just launched their twitter feed in an effort to connect in a more social way.  Although I was against the idea of a corporate twitter account, I realized that the account is only a vehicle and that the people behind the account are the ones that drive whether or not the content coming out of the feed is relevant and interesting.  I think that Friend Connect, along the same lines as Twitter, is an interesting opportunity to draw people to the site and interact with them in a more directed fashion.

I have already integrated the membership gadget, wall posts, and ratings and reviews into the Tips from the T-List site.  This seemed to be a great place to try out the features because it is a community driven site but, until now, has had very little community interaction.  I think the added social components will help to drive more conversations and bring the community closer together.

I have no doubt that the features available through Friend Connect will increase now that it is in open beta.  I think that more member to member messaging as well as more support for existing social networks (including Facebook) will be critical to its long term success.  I expect that many more sites will jump on board and that we can expect to see a Friend Connect site list coming out soon.

If you are a travel blog or travel website that does not have support for member login and social networking, I recommend you try out Google Friend Connect and let the rest of the travel blogging community know by posting on the Tips from the T-List Wall.

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