Even white label social networks like Kickapps realize there is no use competing with the viral social networking power of Facebook and MySpace. Instead, Kickapps now wants to ride on their coattails to engage clients in using their platform as a social network. Kickapps, a white label social networking startup, will now support Facebook Connect and OpenID on KickApps-powered websites.
Clients will have the option to activate the OpenID and 3rd party registrations from their desktop console and then integrate their log-ins and profiles from social networks including Facebook and MySpace. Kickapps will automatically import data from from a client’s Facebook or MySpace profile for free. With Facebook Connect, a client can let members post a note on their Facebook news feed about what they are doing on a KickApps powered site with a link back to the site.
The KickApps platform allows web publishers and marketers to create sites filled with social media applications to better engage audiences through social networking, user-generated content, and widgets. Kickapps’ has shown some success in creating branded social networks, but leveraging the power of the much more popular major social networks is a smart move because it will lower the barriers to joining a Kickapps-powered site.
Thanks for your interest in this story.
I think you’re missing the point however with, “there is no use competing with the viral social networking power of Facebook and MySpace.” Quite the contrary. In people’s lives, niche social sites are very complementary to Facebook & MySpace. Think of the way you relate to a daily newspaper (USA Today-Facebook/MySpace) and magazines you might read (Men’s Health or GQ–niche social websites).
Being able to syndicate and share activity on these niche websites is very powerful to a niche publisher. Letting my FB or MS social graph know that I’ve uploaded a video or commented on an article, thus driving traffic back, is a very valuable traffic driver.
Watch as I sign into TechCrunch w/my Facebook account…
This guy is right. Niche networks will always appeal to special interests or specific needs better than the mainstream networks, but the effort is in finding such niche networks and then having to sign in and set up a friends list from scratch. OpenID and Facebook Connect making using those networks really easy, because you can sign in using an existing identity AND port your existing contacts over. You can also send details of your activity on those sites back to, say, Facebook for everyone to see.
By the way, anyone wanting to incorporate this functionality into their own website (if not KickApps based) should check out JanRain’s RPX.
We plan to include it within our network for sales leads and business referrals within the month.
Ian Hendry
CEO, WeCanDo.BIZ
http://www.wecando.biz
haha, I just noticed your name “Facebook user” as I try to address my reply to you. You have an excellent point.
Yup. My company has token social networking features that supplement what we charge users for. Its an add-on to our business model.
What was FB’s business model again? Oh, right, advertising.
Oh, BTW, I am work at KickApps. Sorry, didn’t note that in my earlier comment.
The new additions to KickApps are great. I am hoping they more toward friend connect soon. but the point system it the S**t.
Open ID is not too open or user friendly if you have 20 different versions. I have avoided it myself because I have yet to see any way that it makes things more secure. If anything it makes things less secure. The more people try to sing it’s praises, the more I want to stay away from it.
Congrats KickApps! Impressed by your willingness to experiment and be innovative.
KickApps rocks, But these connects already done few months ago by their competitor Pluck.
By connecting and collecting profiles from my common social network will much better instead of type again.
Ofcourse my facebook connects not going to help me when im trying to login Business network.
We have developed our own social framework application http://ndot.in/products.php
thanks,
Nandakumar.
Why does it not help with business networks? It takes away the very first obstacle to anyone joining such networks, which is the pain of registration. Google Contacts has already shown how easy it is to take Plaxo contacts between networks. LinkedIn isn’t playing ball but we have a tool on our site which enables your LinkedIn contacts to be found and connected to or invited to join if they are not already members.
Ian Hendry
CEO, WeCanDo.BIZ
http://www.wecando.biz
What exactly is “white label” .. ?
White label means you can completely brand every facet of the user experience for your community, including custom video players and widgets.
Great post. Interesting read
XXX
Good move Kickapps! I have a feeling Facebook connect might emerge as the winner. Given the usability but would love to check out OpenID’s fight back, blogged about it here:
http://blog.kwi...cebook-connect/