Facebook Connect makes signing into your sites fast

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- It's an old idea: a central sign-in that would let you log into many of your favorite Internet sites, eliminating the hassle of remembering multiple passwords.

Microsoft's Passport came and went. Google's OpenSocial and the independent OpenID group are out there, but haven't picked up many high-profile partner sites. Now Facebook is trying — and so far succeeding — with Facebook Connect, which lets you use your Facebook credentials to log into sites across the Web. Since launching in December, the service has grown from 24 websites to more than 8,000.

Netflix, Citysearch, Vimeo, CNet, CNN, Showtime and many other top sites put the Facebook Connect tab on their pages — to encourage new sign-ups and greater use by Facebook's 200 million members. For Facebook, it's a way to extend its reach and bring more of the Web to the Facebook community.

When sites work with Connect, "They understand more about you, they know what you like, who you are, where you're from, how old you are, what gender you are, and now they can custom tailor the site to make it more engaging," says Ethan Beard, Facebook's director of platform marketing.

Connect isn't the first time Facebook has tried to open up its network to other sites. The ill-fated "Beacon" program sent user data to advertisers without member consent. It was quickly pulled back when members howled in protest. With Connect, Facebook has learned from its mistakes, says Charlene Li, an analyst at Altimeter Group.

Beacon "felt like a violation," Li says. "This time, it's clear you're opting to share the information with the site."

Facebook says participating websites only get to store user information for 24 hours — it must be deleted after that and cannot be shared. Still, partner sites are thrilled to get access to one of the Web's largest communities.

Video-sharing service Vimeo says 50,000 people have used Facebook Connect to log in since it began offering it earlier this year— 40,000 of them new users.