Both Google and Facebook want you and web developers everywhere to start using their account login info as the keys to get into all the different websites and webservices that you log into daily. Google launched Google Friend Connect today and shortly afterwards, Facebook launched Facebook Connect.

What are the benefits of these systems for you? Well, both will mean only having to give one login and password through the same secured service to access multiple services, so fewer passwords. This is better than simply using the same login and password on multiple services, because that duplicated password passes through multiple different accounts and websites and should one of those sites be cracked or have a security problem, they'd all be cracked. Facebook and Google, however, will use their connect services to handle all the logging in transactions through their secured gates, therefore participating sites won't ever see your login and password. They'll just know that you are you because Google and Facebook tell them that you're you.

Of course, by using either service, you're putting all your trust in one service to keep your login and password secure, and if either one has a problem, you have a problem. The likelihood of these two currently successful companies dropping the ball, however, is pretty slim for now.

An added benefit of using Facebook Connect to login to other sites is that your activities on those sites, things like commenting, will show up as activity on your Facebook account where you and your friends can see what you said.

Both Google and Facebook want to be the gatekeepers to this access, as it will ensure more exposure of them on other sites, but they both are coming to the game a little late with this technology, as MySpace has had a similar service available for several months. The real determinate of which platform will win this battle will be the users and the services that decide to use them.

 

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