Google has developed FriendConnect as an easy way to take friends from social networks (eg., Facebook, Plaxo) with you to sites without previous social networking functionality. FriendConnect allows site owners to embed code into their sites to display the social networking FriendConnect apps in an iframe. The closed beta is available now, we’ve registered and hope we get picked!

Despite being informed recently that Flock is “so three weeks ago”, I’m just starting to use it.  The most interesting feature of Flock, for me, is the blogging functionality…which I have yet to use.  I’ve been finding it a pain to log into the WP admin site to post.  So, I set this blog up in my sidebar and started my post. However, there’s something about the interface I don’t like.  I can’t quite put my finger on the issue, but I started a post and saved it, and opened it and saved it again.  And…then went into WP admin and am posting…  In trying to sort out the cause of my reluctance, I only get to the inability to preview the post (or have I missed that?) and not being sure the post will display in my posts list in the WP admin area (surely, yes?).  I feel like a TESTING123 post may be needed. So instead of blogging, I’ve spent all my time setting up my Facebook, and looking at my friends in the sidebar.

If I took SocialSpark up on their opportunity, I could be paid $5.50 for this post.  That would buy my tall iced mocha at Aurora Coffee. The pay for posts thing is confusing, because on one hand don’t I want a bit of journalistic integrity? Or is that an old-fashioned notion?  I can’t decide. I didn’t, by the way, get paid $5.50.  

I got a Twitter account a long time ago.  I did nothing with it and thought nothing of it. Really, I just liked the logo and site graphics (I love vector graphics), as I am a sucker for those things…  But recently, Twitter is everywhere.  I’ve been notified that people are following my feed (that will be a serious snoozefest!), Twitter is a GREAT way to market your brand (hmmm…I’d have to be convinced…), some big guys are leaving Twitter (that doesn’t bode well) and finally, SXSW real-time event coverage. Ah…real-time journalism. That makes sense. So what’s the Twitter deal?  Am I missing something?

Coolspotters is the social network for celebrities, brands and fans. At first glance, it seems like a default celebrity endorsement site (I saw blah blah coming out of Starbucks - sort of in the GawkerStalker mode).  But, if you look a bit more, it’s also ranking brands. Very crafty.  Are marketers going to start submitting to move their brand rank up?  Or is it really just about seeing if your new bag is cool because blah blah has it?