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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