Google has announced its Friend Connect venture similar to the one of Facebook on the same afternoon Facebook Connect was launched. Google Friend Connect lets webmasters add Google social features like chat to their Web sites with just a few clicks. The service was introduced in May and has since been in a closed beta.  In addition, MySpace also launched a similar service, dubbed Data Availability. Google's feature lets users interact with friends while browsing third-party Web sites, but there are differences between Google Connect and Facebook Connect.

Google's service is more open, relying on OpenID identity management system, which is also supported by Yahoo, AOL, and Microsoft. Furthermore, when web developers enable their sites for Google Friend Connect, the sites will be able to take advantage of OpenSocial web gadgets, like message boards and rating and reviewing gadgets. However, if is this sounds like an excellent idea, it's questionable whether the users really want to collectively navigate the Internet, because companies such as Google or Facebook practically own users' identities.

One main disadvantage consists of the fact that Web companies can track a user's browsing activities, which produces data that is highly attractive to advertisers. For example, earlier this year, Facebook pulled its support for Google Friend Connect citing privacy concerns over developer access to member information. In related news, analysts say that they expect the next big area of growth to be mobile area, where a user will be able to take this kind of universal ID and participate at different sites designed for mobile.