Facebook to Expand “Connect” Feature, Reach on the Web

Social networking website Facebook is set to expand a feature that allows users to integrate their accounts across the web. Facebook Connect, the name of the new application, allows members to log onto other websites using their Facebook login information and to see what their friends are doing on those sites.

Facebook announced Monday that it will encompass more sites, including the Discovery Channel, Digg, Twitter, Evite, Socialthing, StumbleUpon, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Geni. The feature will increase web traffic for partner sites if Facebook users –who number 120 million- are drawn by the universal login system.

Citing an example, nytimes.com says, a person might alert his Facebook friends to the fact that he is watching a video on CBS.com and invite them to join him there to watch together and discuss the video as it plays.

According to media reports, the social networking site has promised more caution in terms of protecting user privacy than it has granted in the past. Facebook took plenty of flak after launching its Beacon advertising program last year because users complained it infringed on their privacy and did not give them enough control.