Most social networks aren’t even within shouting distance of Facebook’s 400 million users. But despite Facebook’s considerable reach, the company has made a number of moves to connect to Web sites outside its direct sphere of influence, notably Facebook Connect.
As Developer.com reports, Facebook is moving quickly beyond Connect as it looks to make the entire Web more social. And it’s launching with a strong list of partners, including Microsoft, already on board.
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook continues to open and extend its platform along with its already considerable reach across the Web, today unveiling its new Open Graph protocol aimed at making it easier for its more than 400 million users to mark what they like on sites across the Internet.
The move marks the social networking goliath’s latest effort to provide new functions and services for Web developers and site owners while enriching its reach beyond its own site. Facebook said a Web developer can add a “Like” button to their site with a single line of HTML code that’s part of the Open Graph protocol. Users, meanwhile, can click on the button to indicate found content that they like — instantly adding it to their list of “likes” and their activity feeds for friends to see.
Also, when another user visits that same site, they can see what their friends like.
“For the first time my identity isn’t just defined by Facebook, but by what’s happening all around the Web,” said Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, kicking off the company’s f8 developer conference here.
