• Introduction

The Google Friend Connect plugin allows you, as a blog administrator, to let your users to authenticate using their external accounts and comment your posts. It also provides a replacement for the existing WordPress comment functionality by using Google Friend Connect comments gadget.

The plugin provides you optional features such as adding Google Friend Connect social bar, members gadget, site wide comment gadget and recommendation gadget in your WordPress side bar.

When you add a new post, someone posts a comment or someone recommends one of your posts using the recommendation button, those activities are posted to the Google Friend Connect activity streams.

To see this plugin in action please visit:

Demo with native comments

Demo with Google Friend Connect Comments

• Features

• User Login

This plugin allows your visitors to login using their external account and leave a comment using the standard WordPress comments mechanism. A WordPress account is created for the visitor, and is associated with the external account.

Friend Connect login button

Freind Connect login pop-up

Freind Connect login pop-up using google account

Comments form upon login

• Replacing Comments

By enabling Google Friend Connect comments from the administration panel, the WordPress comments mechanism is replaced by a Google Friend Connect Comments Gadget, and your visitors can leave a comment logging in with their external accounts, in this case, the visitor is not logged in into WordPress.

Friend Connect comments

• Optional Social Gadgets

A set of Google Friend Connect social gadgets are available to be added as sidebar widgets such as: recommendations, global comments, social bar, and members gadgets.

Recommendations

This gadget allows members to recommend the posts they like and see what parts of your site are the most popular. Your best content will surface to the top of the list.

Recommendations Button

Recommendations Gadget

• Global Comments

Apart from the comments on an individual post, this gadget allows members to comment and add video links on a global thread.

Site wide comments gadget

• Social Bar

This gadget allows your visitors easy access to Friend Connect's social features. The bar includes a way for visitors to sign in, view other members, leave comments, and see recent site activity.

Social bar

Social bar

• Members Gadget

This gadget allows your visitors to join your site, sign in, and invite their friends. They can even explore the profiles of other members and make new friends.

Members gadget

• Newsletter Gadget

Create, send and manage your site's newsletters from one place. Users can subscribe to your newsletter when joining your site or via the newsletter gadget.

Newsletter Gadget

• Polls Gadget

Get to know users by asking them questions. Their responses can help you present personalized newsletters, ads, and content. Users' responses are added to their Friend Connect profiles, making it easier for people to meet and find other users with similar interests

Polls gadget

• Featured Content Gadget

Display content from your site based on the interests of your site's visitors. Using Google site search, this gadget will automatically display content that matches the interests expressed by your site's visitors.

Featured Content

• Adsense gadget

The AdSense with !Google !Friend !Connect gadget lets you give direct feedback to AdSense about the kinds of ads that are more relevant to your users, based on their Site Interests. For example, if you have a music site and you know that most of your users prefer the bass to the guitar, sharing that information with AdSense via the gadget can help you serve fewer ads about guitars and more ads about basses.

Adsense gadget

• Activities

When you add a new post, or when someone comments or make a recommendation on a post, an activity is posted to Google Friend Connect activity stream to let the members know.

Activities in the social bar