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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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 ANALYSIS 
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Making Web More Social Has Google, Facebook Less So

Friend Connect threatens social-networking business model

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(Newser) – Though Facebook cited privacy concerns in pulling the plug on a partnership with Google aimed at making the Web more social, dollar signs are more likely behind its withdrawal from Friend Connect, the Washington Post reports. "What Facebook is after really is control over their users," one analyst says of the threat to the company's advertising hold.

The rift that opened just days after last month's Friend Connect launch raises questions about the future of social networking. Such efforts to let users network on multiple sites as they surf the Internet, rather than only within a closed site, threaten revenues for Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and their competitors. These sites will need "to evolve," said Google’s engineering director.

"What Facebook is after really is control over their users," one analyst says of the social-networking site's decision to pull out of an agreement with Google over the Friend Connect feature.   (AP Photo)
"What Facebook is after really is control over their users," one analyst says of the social-networking site's decision to pull out of an agreement with Google over the Friend Connect feature.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
Google said it gave Facebook a chance to review how Friend Connect before its launch; Facebook denies that, and has pulled out of the attempt to make the Web more social, citing privacy concerns.
Google said it gave Facebook a chance to review how Friend Connect before its launch; Facebook denies that, and has pulled out of the attempt to make the Web more social, citing privacy concerns.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Katie Stanton of Google Finance, Alan Murray of the Wall Street Journal, and Scott Drake of CNBC Digital attend the opening bell ceremony at the Nasdaq MarketSite on June 2, 2008.
Katie Stanton of Google Finance, Alan Murray of the Wall Street Journal, and Scott Drake of CNBC Digital attend the opening bell ceremony at the Nasdaq MarketSite on June 2, 2008.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
The Facebook logo is displayed at a news conference in New York in this November 6, 2007 file photo.
The Facebook logo is displayed at a news conference in New York in this November 6, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, file)
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