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Google Making Whole Web Social Network

'This is the evolution of the walled garden to the social Web'

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted May 12, 2008 3:18 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Google is unveiling a new service that could effectively turn the whole Web into a social network, the Washington Post reports. Friend Connect allows visitors to participating sites to meet and interact with others who visit the same site. "Wherever people go on the Web, they want to have their friends with them, and this makes it possible," says one Google worker.

Many see this new development as a long-awaited step that will take social networking out of the province of mainstays like Facebook and MySpace, which have been criticized for only allowing users to connect while at their respective sites. "This is the evolution of the walled garden to the social Web," says an industry insider.

The Google booth at the RSA convention in San Francisco is shown Tuesday, April 8, 2008. Google Inc. reports earnings for the first quarter after the market closes on Thursday, April 17, 2008.
The Google booth at the RSA convention in San Francisco is shown Tuesday, April 8, 2008. Google Inc. reports earnings for the first quarter after the market closes on Thursday, April 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Wherever people go on the Web, they want to have their friends with them, and this makes it possible, a Google exec says of the company's new Friend Connect feature.
"Wherever people go on the Web, they want to have their friends with them, and this makes it possible," a Google exec says of the company's new Friend Connect feature.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
A Google sign at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. is seen Oct. 15, 2007. Google Inc. reports earnings for the first quarter after the market closes on Thursday, April 17, 2008.
A Google sign at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. is seen Oct. 15, 2007. Google Inc. reports earnings for the first quarter after the market closes on Thursday, April 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
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Google guy calls it "social plumbing"
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