I’m so accustomed to signing in with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) (I don’t use Twitter as anything more than a news aggregation app) that I guess I was surprised a little when I read that this option has just been offered to developers to include in their apps. I will also confess that I don’t really use Google+. I signed up for it primarily for professional reasons, but have yet to find many things that “I need” that aren’t already offered by Facebook.
When I say released for developers, I mean the average Google+ user will see little changes, but may notice more contact between developers of apps you download and login to in this fashion on your Google+ “feed.”
“Whether you’re building an app for Android, iOS or the web, users can now sign in to your app with Google, and bring along their Google+ info for an upgraded experience,” Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) said in a blog post. “It’s simple, it’s secure, and it prohibits social spam. And we’re just getting started.”
For users:
“With Google+ Sign-In and circles you decide who to share with, if at all,” Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) said. “In addition: Google+ doesn’t let apps spray ‘frictionless’ updates all over the stream, so app activity will only appear when it’s relevant (like when you’re actually looking for it).”
This statement was clearly meant as a swipe/slap/jab, or whatever, at the “frictionless sharing” that Mark Zuckerberg and company announced 18 months ago. A sharing that angered privacy advocates considerably more than the average user. It was this outrage, however, that essentially put an end to the “frictionless sharing” that Facebook has all but given up on since it was announced.
It’s fun to watch these little barbs being hurled at the other company. They really do resemble nothing more than a ruffling of feathers between computer engineers who’ve never actually punched anyone in real life. While some of them have undoubtedly yanked prostitutes out of cars and beat them with a crowbar while playing Grand Theft Auto, these are not the “fighting words” that led to high noon showdowns with pistols in the west and California of years past.
Any real fight between these two will ultimately take place in courtrooms and boardrooms. Besides Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) execs aren’t even allowed to say the word “Facebook” as though it might summon up Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice. Rather they are trained to refer to them as “other social competitors, or if pressed, “a certain competitor.”
Settle down ladies, or keep it up as we all find it amusing.
