Tax Credit for Home Buyers Only Part Of The Solution

What if a Home Seller considered buying Supplemental Unemployment Insurance policy for the Buyer? Let's get a blog dialogue going about this idea. With interest rates at near historic lows, inventory plentiful and prices reduced, only fear of job loss can present buyers with any reasonable justification to wait. What do you think?

Palm Springs Friends Connect With Google Friend Connect

Who else wants to make new friends using Google's new Google Friend Connect social networking?

Google is quietly rolling out its own Google social network using Google Friend Connect on blogs everywhere.

It is really easy to use, very secure and feature laden. What's better yet is you don't have to join any new sites.

Start by creating a Gmail account. This Gmail address will be public on both your profile and to any friends you make thru Google's social network and in Google Friend Connect. Choose wisely and use your real name.

This is not some Zoo like MySpace or a spamfest like Facebook. This is real people that you really know or want to know.

Once you have a Gmail email address set up or you choose to use an existing Gmail address the rest is easy.

Follow the instructions and start by creating a Google profile and add a picture of yourself.

Look at the Google Friend Connect widget on the top right of this blog or the new version, the Google social bar at the bottom.

Next, click the "join" button and you you will be added to the Friend Connect widget and you will see your picture appear in the members listed there.

The site will show as one of the sites you have joined in your profile and any friends you make in any Google Friend Connect widget will also appear in the widget as "friends."

How do you make Google Social Networking Friends?

Next, click a member's avatar in the Friend Connect widget and you will be presented with a "+add as friend" link. Click that link and you can add the person to your friends list.

When you do that and the person you are friending accepts the request, their contact information will be added to both your Gmail contacts under the Gmail address you were logged in under and if you choose to turn it on, Gchat in Gmail and Gtalk if you use the stand alone client.

Why Google Friend Connect Kicks Facebook Butt

The results of adding Google Friend Connect friends I described above is much like any social network but here is the difference.

Rather than having a bunch of social sites that you get tons of "Join My Group" spam like requests from, you manage your friends thru Gmail. Just one interface your probably use every day since Gmail is a very slick email application.

Send a bunch of spammy email to your friends and very quickly you will find that Gmail address gone. Send a bunch of links to your friends for some MLM site and you will find that site gets blocked fast by Gmail spam filters. You will also find you don't have any friends anymore either.

Also, Google is very much about mutual two way relationships here. They are not going to let this degenerate into a spam fest, complete with all the ramifications that you probably know well.

You can't just go around adding friends willy nilly and then send them a bunch of Gmail spam. Until you accept a friend request, neither parties get the Gmail address of the other. Pretty good job there Google.

Don't want that friend anymore? Just delete their Gmail address from contacts and they are no more. Bye bye, easily done.

Google is going to take this humble start and turn all of the various Google properties into one big social network. So all the friends you make thru the widget will be portable, not just to any blog using Google Friend Connect, but every application that Google provides.

I am very excited about what is coming here, and the early adopters will profit from this as you build large friends lists across any blog and all the Google applications.

How can you and your friends and family use this?

This is not some marketing promotion, this can be used for families to stay in touch, neighborhood friends or how about a grade school group of parents?

You can interact anywhere on the web with these friends and you don't need a website to go with it. If you want one you can build one for free on Blogger.com just like I did.

How about a family blog that keeps distant family members in touch with each other?

How about a work blog that keeps employees in touch and allows them to share information and projects?

How about a business blog that allows readers to share and comment on current news and blog content?

The options are endless and I am sure many of you will come up with your own exciting ideas using Google Friend Connect.

You can learn even more thru this Google Friend Connect turotial.

If you come up with something you would like to share here, contact me and I will be glad to let others know how you used Google Friend Connect.

Happy Friend Connecting! - Stephen Love