Google Friend Connect being discontinued?

[Lesa]

I just learned about GFC being discontinued for non-Blogger users in March 2012 and for Blogger users sometime later in 2012.  Google+ is supposed to replace GFC.  What a drag!   I like the convenience of GFC. And I really like the fact that it adds blogs that I follow to my dashboard.  Hope that function carries over to Google+.

What do all of you think about this change? 

[Kayla Merritt]

I have been putting off getting a Google+ account for a while now and am not looking forward to getting one just for blogging.

[Jean Vogler]

I agree w/ Kayla. I hate being pushed into using new technology for no other reason than "everyone else is doing it"

[Lesa]

I searched out the Google blogpost about this and it only says it will be discontinued for nonblogger users in March. So maybe Blogger users are safe for awhile.  But it is very unfortunate for the ones affected--- some Wordpress blogs have 1000s of followers with GFC.

 

[Grace]

I use Wordpress.com, so I've never been able to use GFC on my blog.  I've "followed" a few blogs via GFC, but never really cared for it because it was inconvenient to find the blogs that I was following.  I'd rather subscribe via e-mail.  Yeah, having a lot of followers looks nice, but followers and readers aren't the same thing.

_______________________

Books Without Any Pictures

[Jennifer Ochs]

That is a very good point!

http://jensbookden.blogspot.com

[David Keller]

does anyone know of another "frind connect" widget beside GFC?  I might go that route.  I used subscribe by email too and like it, but a lot of people don't want to get regular emails for every new post.  There has to be something in place of GFC.

 

Thanks for mentioning this.

[Becky Raymond]

I LOVE LOVE Google + and it provides a great venue for chatting with other bloggers and authors.  I won't miss GFC at all :)

[Evangeline Han]

I ditto Grace's reply. I use Wordpress.com too, and therefore cannot have the GFC widget on my blog. This has never been a bother for me because I encourage my readers to subscribe to my blog via email. Personally, I think 100+ of email subscribers is better than 100+ of GFC followers. I follow many blogs via GFC, mostly because it seems to be a favorite requirement of those running giveaways. Just because I GFC follow blogs, it doesn't mean I read them. In fact, since I'm not using Blogger, I hardly ever log on to my GFC dashboard to read the blogs I follow.

[Joss Arden]

I don't know, I mean...I agree with the folks who are saying that while having thousands of followers in GFC looks nice, it's not the same as having thousands of people actually reading their blog. On the other hand, I'm sure some people actually prefer reading blogs via GFC. I had GFC on my blog when I first started, not because I wanted to show off how many followers I could get (I think I only had one person follow it that way) but because I wanted it available to the people who actually wanted to read my blog that way. I wanted to have several following/subscription options available so that I don't miss out on potential readers who are dead set on only reading blogs via one method. Expecting your readers to follow your blog via RSS when every other blog they follow via GFC seems a bit...unrealistic to me.

 

But anyway, I guess that's all moot now.

[Mary (BookHounds)]

I was reluctant to try Google + - I signed up while it was in Beta and never knew what to do with it.  It is so much easier to follow blogs there.  It is extremely clean compared to Facebook.  I interact more with people on + and I like the fact that I can easily find people with my interests.  I don't see constant posts about what people had for lunch or where they are going to work out.  I would head over there and *claim* a page for yourself and one for your blog! I started posting my blog there and it looks beautiful.  The best part are the circles, you can easily sort people into groups and also set your posts to specific groups or the public. 

As far as a substitute for GFC, I think email and RSS feeds are your only choice.  Networked blogs on Facebook is also an option, but I hate reading them there.  There is not an option to feed your blog directly into + yet, but I heard that is coming.  You have to manually post everything.  GFC is really only an RSS feeder, so if you have that little subscribe by RSS button on your blog, you are good! 

[Credoroza]

I am on Google+ and I find it ao confusing and un-user friendly. Google should have left well enough alone. Google Friends was so easy to use. *sigh* Oh the constant need to improve. Sometimes change is not always good.

[Beck Valley Books Blog]

With the news that many blogs will be loosing Google Friends Connect, it has become a major event for bloggers to increase their Google+ Circles accounts.

We have opened a page in our group for your to add your links to and follow back, and hopefully increase your numbers, click here

http://bookblogs.ning.com/group/uk-book-reviewers-and-authors-who-w...