Facebook is a pretty cool thing.
And now, our humble little abode and Facebook actually talk to each other.
By using a Facebook Connect plugin, hacking up a few files in it and my Wordpress theme (Thesis, which is da bomb), pilfering a teeny bit of Javascript code from Dustin at 4Realz, and mixing in several swear words, I think I’ve got Facebook Connect up and running here.
What does Facebook Connect do?
All sorts of neat tricks. . .
You can log in by clicking the button under “Facebook Community” in the sidebar to your immediate right (just under the ads. Not the ideal location, so that may change) or by clicking on the button in the comment form. Annoyingly, when you do that, the page refreshes and takes you back to the top of the page. I’ve spent too much time today trying to get it to bring you directly back to the comment form. If anyone has a clue how to do that, I’m all ears.
Once you’re logged in, if you leave a comment here, you’ll have the option of pushing that comment to your Facebook page with the click of a button. So everyone that sees your Facebook page will also see your brilliant comment here. Instant content for your Facebook page!
Your Facebook profile picture will also be displayed by your comment here. So smile! And through the magic of the Internet, if you change your picture on Facebook, it’ll also change in the comments here.
If you are so inclined, you can also invite your Facebook friends here. Go ahead, I don’t mind. 
Click on a users picture in the sidebar here and you’ll get some info about them, a link to their site/blog and their Facebook profile page, and you can see their recent comments here. (Here’s mine as an example.) This is a great way to see what others here are doing and saying, and a way for you to connect with others on Facebook.
OF NOTE: If you want your comment here to link back to your site (I “dofollow” by the way) then you will need to edit your profile here. Just look for the “edit profile” link in the Facebook Community area on the sidebar.
I suspect the wizards at Facebook aren’t done with Connect yet.
Implementing Facebook Connect
This is WAY too complicated. The plugin helps a lot, but getting it to work in some themes will be a challenge. You also have to create an application on Facebook, and at least in this theme (and I suspect any others) you have to add code to core files. It’s not for the feint of heart and I broke the blog several times in this little exercise.
I’d LOVE it if some readers could check it out and let me know if they like it, hate it, or don’t care. You don’t have to use Facebook Connect, but it’s there if you want it. If nothing else, click on a Phoenix Real Estate Guy reader’s photo in the Facebook Community section here and friend them up on Facebook!
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Look everyone, I’m on Facebook AND phoenixrealestate.com blog…at the SAME TIME.
testing out the comment feed on one of the best darn real estate sites http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com
Think that connecting comments through facebook blogs, friend connect, etc. is the way of the future. Hopefully the integration will become easier as this evolves.
I agree with Carolyn. I have most of my social sites getting linked together. It’s practically a full time job in itself
Best wishes
Testing FB Connect on IE7…
Well crud, comments don’t seem to post to Facebook if using IE7. Firefox works. IE sucks.
Safari 4 Beta works, so I assume 3 does too.
I will give it a try, I have never used facebook but I have been meaning too, I think your post has made it clear that I need to get it up and running.
Thanks for the post
isan’t facebook and all these other internet sites amazing. I wonder all the time how in the world was Real Estate done 15 years ago. I mean, without my social websites, my blackberry and all. Wow… Good advice I like it. What theme are you using for this blog? I love the layout and look, I have a wordpress blog I am just barely getting into a lot.. Any advice would be helpful
http://utahcribs.wordpress.com/
**utahcribs Real Estate Salt Lake City´s last blog post..UTAH, America’s Best States to Live in…
Facebook is all about networking!
You are always good enough to try this stuff out first and pave the way for the rest of us. We’ll see if it works Jay…
Worked for me.
FB Connect works seamlessly through Chrome! I plan to add it to my blog (www.realtytechtalk.com) in the near future.
I like Facebook quite a bit. I have reconnected with a bunch of my old friends from high school, and even had one of them refer a client to me a few months back who actually decided to go ahead and purchase a home through me. What makes that especially cool is that I am not from New Jersey, and have only really lived hear for about 2.5 years now. Now that is social networking the way I hoped it would work out.
Keep up the great work Jay, and keep growing your independent real estate company.
Jim
**Morristown NJ Real Estate´s last blog post..Real Estate Deals In Morristown NJ 07960
I just spent a few hours adding Facebook Connect to my site, I made a comprehensive tutorial including screenshots documenting the installation process. I have another site with a thesis theme so I am intrigued if I will encounter the same problems you did.
http://www.iandavidchapman.com/how-to-add-facebook-connect-to-your-blog/
Great website by the way , very informative!
**Ian Chapman´s last blog post..How To Add Facebook Connect To Your Blog
The Facebook Connect looks really nice where you have it set up, too.
I have most of my social networks linked together too just to try to keep the information fresh; thanks for sharing the Facebook Connect option!
That seems like a smart way to keep Facebook updated without having to spend extra hours doing it-have you noticed though that some items you comment don’t cross over well to facebook? I think twitter and facebook had something similar, but I’ve heard that some of the “tweets” or posts didn’t cross over well to the other social network. How are you liking FC?
Thanks for sharing the Facebook Connect option. Good thing for networking.
Friends, Friends & Friends
Thanks for sharing this! I may add this to my own website.
Check out my Real Estate blog!
Brenda Goodell
Celina Texas Homes
Collin County Real Estate
Well, I haven’t jumped on the Facebook bandwagon yet, but it looks like I need too! I can’t give you much feedback other than that it all looks really clean and crisp on your site.
another GEM! You are awesome Jay!!!!!!!!!!
This is awesome Jay. Can’t wait to get connected.
The only issue I have with Facebook plugins relates to whether social media traffic is really valuable. I’m referring to the Newsweek article by Daniel Lyons, uncovering his story behind the Secret Diary Of Steve Jobs where he concluded that you couldn’t make money from social traffic very easily. So perhaps chasing social traffic is not the answer, rather chasing SERP would be more profitable and forget Facebook.
**Lizzy´s last blog post..Blackberry Pearl 8110 Pink Review
Thanks Jay! I am going to try Facebook Connect plugin soon.
Thanks jay for such a nice article. I will add your website definitely. Facebook really a good networking site..
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Well I guess the time has come to figure out this facebook connect for my site. With so many new networking sites and tech. upgrades it can be hard to keep up with. Oh what to do… by the way, I love the blog! Did you get everything up and running for facebook on all different browsers?