Integration of sites over the world wide web is one of the main goals– and Google promises a lot more to websites. Whether Google will succeed with its objectives remains to be seen. Typically, users are wary of websites that store personal data or give their information to third-party companies. While Google promises that Friend Connect users are in charge of what is shared, and that Google does not permanently store any user data, the layman may still be suspicious. Although Friend Connect only reads a very small amount of data from one social networking site to the next– it may still enough to make some new users nervous.

However, veterans of sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and the like, are already accustomed to the concept. Facebook has a history of using applications to appeal to users while simultaneously incorporating third-party websites. MySpace just recently started doing the same. Social networking sites rely on traffic and advertising for their revenue– so integration of them might be key. MySpace users– the core demographic being the high school through twentysomething crowd– are used to subtle advertising along the interface. With the addition of applications and the future possibility of incorporating Google Friend Connect, MySpace users may be exposed to worlds beyond the realm of their space.

While Google has virtually monopolized the world of online searching, Facebook and MySpace are giants in the world of social networking. Facebook’s value is estimated on a high end at 15 Billion, based on Microsoft’s investment $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in it. MySpace was sold to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation for $580 million in 2006 but is now estimated to have a value of about $6 billion, depending on who you ask and various valuation methods. LinkedIn, with its 20 million users is valued at close to $1 billion, having recently raised 53 million in funding.

Google does own social networking sites– the aforementioned Plaxo and orkut– and the idea of developing a unique approach is not a new concept to Google. In August of 2008, Google signed a deal with MySpace for advertising and to be MySpace’s official search engine. With the upcoming introduction of products like Facebook Connect and Google Connect, the world wide web’s social networks will become increasingly integrated.