Google Introduces Friend Connect

Google is helping turn your site into a social network.

The search giant is set to unveil its new Friend Connect program this evening. The service will let you use customized code to get instant access to user databasing and message boards, even the ability to interact with other networks’ features.

“Many sites aren’t explicitly social and don’t necessarily want to be social networks, but they still benefit from letting their visitors interact with each other,” Google Director of Engineering David Glazer explained.

“Google Friend Connect…let[s] people easily connect with their friends, wherever they are on the web, making any app, any site, any friends a reality.”

Friend Connect will attempt to link various social networks together so users can have one all-purpose login and profile. It’ll also allow musicians to manage their content in one central place, as is being demonstrated with singer Ingrid Michaelson’s new player, linked from iLike, at the top of her site.

“We want to bring ourselves to every eyeball, not bring every eyeball to us,” iLike President Hadi Partovi explained.

Friend Connect will be formally introduced at a media event in Northern California tonight and will then run in a limited preview release, much like Google did with Gmail’s rollout. By this evening, you’ll be able to learn more and sign up for the wait list by visiting the Friend Connect site.