I got a chance to check out a service called TinyChat this past week. It’s a very cool platform that lets you build disposable chat rooms for events or meetings but also integrates up to 6 live video streams via webcam where you can have your presenter essentially streaming out the content while the audience can participate via chat (similar to Ustream – which also is a damn great service). And I got to log in with my Twitter credentials.
Then came news that LinkedIn was linking up with Twitter (or was Twitter linking up with LinkedIn?) and it got me thinking…. While we’re still seeing an explosion in social platforms and tools that people use to connect, we’re also seeing consolidation.
More and more platforms are using the robust APIs from Twitter and Facebook to let users log into and use services with their Facebook or Twitter IDs. I know Google is doing this to a lesser extent as well but mostly with companies they’ve bought or services they’re starting.
The point is… I think that FB and Twitter are positioning themselves for the long term not just in their own platforms, but by using their accounts as a sort of ‘passport’ that’s accepted throughout the different social media sphere. They’re becoming the big daddies of social data (read: my information) in much the same way Google has become the big name in search data. And I think that platforms which make it easier on their users to connect (without having to create yet ANOTHER username / password / secret question / demographic form) are the ones that are going to have a leg up because it’s a lower barrier of entry for me to participate.
What do you guys think? Are you more likely to use 3rd party services that let you connect with existing credentials or doesn’t it matter? On the flip side, does the centralization of your social data bother you? Leave a comment and let’s chat.
Centralizing of your social data is great for people like myself who do not have the time to repeat myself over and over again.
I totally agree! Great minds think alike, I wrote about this a long time ago
http://www.socialmedialand.net/2008/12/17/news-curiousities/facebook-connect-your-passport-to-social-media-land/
A lot has changed since then (it was almost a year ago!) but it’s headed in the same direction.
As for me – I think it’s great. I think Facebook makes more sense than Twitter if only because it has a bigger selection of data to store. Facebook would be like your passport (get you anywhere, all the info you need) and Twitter would be your license (good enough for proving your identity in every day situations)
I am absolutely more likely to participate in a new service if I can skip the whole reg process and use my FB “credentials” to log in. Can’t wait for data to come out down the road about the increased rate of adoption for new platforms that use this model. Very, very smart.
Katie,
Many many thanks for the comment (though it appears you beat me to the punch on the topic). I love your analogy of Facebook as being the passport and Twitter the License. It’s funny, I kind of want both depending on how I want to interact on that third party service.
For instance, if I think I’m going to post more personal stuff or funny / offbeat stuff then Facebook would be my connection of choice (assuming that posts / interactions on the 3rd party site would lead back to my FB page) but if it were more professional or if it was designed to expand my network, probably Twitter.
All depends on the service I guess. Again, thanks for taking the time to comment.
I agree, though I’m still looking for that ‘ultimate client interface’ where I can manage everything from one place. Love Hootsuite, Ping and Su.pr but they all do at least one unique thing I don’t want to give up. So I’m stuck using multiple services for now I guess. Thanks for the comment.
While I’m not familiar with the management teams at Twitter or FB, I think start-ups in general learned quite a bit from the dot-com bust of the late 90s early 2000s. You need to be aggressive and position yourself as the leader, but don’t turn down partnerships where they make sense–even with the competition. Stand together, or die alone. A lot of the companies who survived were not afraid to hold hands to do so.
I actually haven’t been a customer of ComCast’s but I’ve heard they’re getting better at the service (at least on Twitter) – but maybe slightly more evil again with their purchase of NBC. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to leave the comments.
And I don’t know what the deal is with the about page…. one more project I’ll have to work on for the weekend. Thanks for the heads up though.
All of these articles have saved me a lot of hedhacaes.