Dropping Google Friend Connect and Facebook Like Box
I’m finally doing it!
I’m letting bloody go!
Goodbye GFC, I’ll miss you so.
Goodbye Facebook Like Box,
I wish I didn’t have to let you go.
No longer shall I be shackled to my desk,
waiting and watching,
watching and waiting for your numbers to rise.
No longer shall I move your widget around my site,
searching for the best placement for visiting eyes.
I am now free,
free as a stallion that’s been let loose into a field,
to run and frolic as I feel.
Why would I do such a thing, you ask. Why would I give up two staples of my networking world? Simple.
These bloody widgets are bloody stupid. Really. I don’t know if it’s updates to WordPress or updates to Facebook and Google Friend Connect, but let me demonstrate.
Here is my Site’s Facebook Like Box, on any one’s computer, when I’m signed into and then signed out of Facebook on my own computer.
Here is my Site’s Google Friend Connect Gadget on a good day and on a bad day.
It gets really bloody old and tiring.
As bloggers, we have other things to focus on, such as great content. I’m sick of wasting time fixing the GFC and noticing the FB like box was wonky was the icing on the cake. Adios Amigos!
Oh and Networked Blogs better watch it’s behind, cause the moment it goes wonky, it’s bloody out of here!
And I think I’ll add a Twitter widget, cause Twitter has always been damn good to me.
Can you live without these widgets on your blog?
UPDATE: June 3, 2011. I’ve officially added the GFC and FB Like Boxes back into my design. Funny that I did so at a time where people were having issues with it and yet it works for me. But if it goes wonky, it’s gone. I love being able to connect with bloggers through GFC. Just so easy.
Photocredit: fotografiche.eu via PhotoXpress
Vanita, I need your mentorship! What I know about site building & widgets, etc, can fill my baby girl’s Children Place jeans pockets. You make it sound so easy…
Blackberry Mama recently posted..Sick Passenger on the L Train
hey whatever you need mama. i got your fix right here.
I never followed the trend of putting those widgets on my blog. I don’t know why. I just didn’t bother. So, yes, living without them is easy. In fact, I started a facebook page for my blog and have hardly every updated it because it’s too much work. LOL! I aim low.
Jamie, thanks for stopping by. finding widgets on other sites and finding them so easy to use to keep track of sites i wanted to visit again, made me want to give others the same option. i love connecting with ppl and im actually going to miss having these widgets. its just so unsightly to have them on my site when they’re not working, so they gotta go.
You are free run wild…lol…love this post… and hey that’s me on your widget pic…lol
Adriana Iris recently posted..Acceptance
i know! I hope you don’t mind. I figured I’ve had you guys on my site so long, no one would mind showing up in the post.
Vanita recently posted..Dropping Google Friend Connect and Facebook Like Box
not at all
Adriana recently posted..Acceptance
thank you thank you
I think it’s perfectly fine for you to decide what widgets you’re using on your blog. They’re on my blog, but that’s because I’m still using the Blogger platform and they tend to not get wonky there. But I did just connect to you via Networked Blogs
IASoupMama recently posted..The Nine-Month Marathon
IASoupMama! How r u dear? Thanks for dropping by and of course Networking
I love it when old friends drop by. 
i do without them. i don’t even know what is on my page right now. i’m lucky if i fill out the links portion of my blog. i’m a bad blogger. lol. well i’m a bad advertiser i suppose.
you are so not a bad blogger! you’ve kept me enthralled with your writing for months.
Ha! Stupid tools. If I’d known mine were acting wonky, I’d have dropped them a long time ago. I’ll investigate tonight…you might see mine gone soon, too!
Angel recently posted..Dirty Laundry…this is for real
go ahead and burn that bra baby! hehe, but seriously, i don’t suggest dropping them unless they make your site look bad. presentation is everything!
I have the FB widget and haven’t had any issues. But I get why you’re getting rid of it. I went a long time without it so I could probably do without it again and I will if it ever acts up!! It made me smile to see my boy’s face in your FB widget!!
Eve recently posted..A Letter to My Son- Happy Birthday Handsome!
Eve, I’m pretty sure that one of my widgets is causing the FB to malfunction. Not sure about the GFC cause that has always beeen a little wonky. ok, a lot wonky. i’ve regenerated that code a bazillion times!
I dont think I’ll get rid of mine as yet. I have had very few issues with it other than human mistakes.
Wheres the spinach dip? I was told this is a party
Chrissy recently posted..The State of My Union Sick and Tired
the stripper made a run for it with the dip.
so hard to find good help these days.
Good for you!! Enjoy the freedom wild stallion!! I HATE the google friend connect and actually I refuse to sign into any blog with a google ID…why not just allow people to use name/url??????? you’re loosing out on my comments people! lol…
enjoy your liberated blog…now go burn some bras!
GREAT post.
Jessica recently posted..Convenience Part 2 The Flipside Wordless Wednesday
having to jump through hoops to comment on a blog is irksome, but if I really like that blog? yeah, i’ll go through it. some posts are just too awesome not to leave a comment.
I wouldn’t get rid of them. I post quite a bit on FB, and I enjoy getting new likes. Having the FB box and friend connect are visuals that remind me that people actually DO like me.
see, it kills me to let them go. but dang the site looks awful when they don’t work!
Cute poem. Sorry they’ve been giving you trouble. On my old blogs I lived without these widgets…most weren’t created yet! Now? I have to have them! I like giving people multiple ways to connect with me and…. well, PR likes em too.
see? that’s why i installed them and maintained them for so long. i love giving visitors any easy way to connect and a bit of promotion for themselves. i just can’t get GFC to stay working and i had dropping in on my own site to find a blank box or an error where the widget should be. imagine, you own a restaurant and you drop in to find the hostess you hired is too busy to greet customers? that chica has got to go! out the door with the GFC.
I probably wouldn’t get rid of GFC only because I do product reviews and for now companies want to know how many followers I have sometimes. The Facebook thing I could live without to be quite honest, but then again, I use it as a tool.
Mimi recently posted..Looking For A Crossover Or Minivan
these tools are important when pitching to PR. I was hoping to do the same. I’ll probably bring them back eventually. but first i gotta find out why they’re so wonky cause i hate it when the site has errors. presentation is everything! i also think it’s really weird that the facebook doesn’t work if i’m not logged into facebook. what’s worse? when logged in as my pro bono client to make adjustments to his new page, his fb stats show up on my site. so bloody weird.
http://www.clothdiaperingmama.com/2011/03/24/im-stylish-i-won-an-award-i-think-ill-call-my-mom/ not sure if you saw this yet…but you’ve won my Stylish BLogger award
If you want to come get it you can check it out at my blog. I featured 10 great blogs and you were on my list 
)))) Take care!!!
Jessica recently posted..I’m stylish! I won an award! I think I’ll call my mom!
awww, thanks Jessica, as i mentioned over on your site, i’m humbled and honored. i’m just so backed up preparing for tomor . . . i mean today’s meeting, i barely have time to answer all these awesome comments. WooHoo somebody thinks I’m stylish.
It’s hard to let the FB fanpage one go for some reason. I do keep moving it down my sidebar though. lol I have to go back to old school and remember that the sidebar is to help make money. FB fanpage does NOT make me money. My newsletter does. My advertising spots do. Links to my ebooks do.
I love seeing my FB numbers go up, but followers aren’t engaging on the page and I’d rather put my time into the site
I know I could get them to engage with research, but is that where I should be putting my effort? I think I’ll put more effort into them signing up for my newsletter and blog feed instead.
I am a twitter lover too
Val-Mom Chats recently posted..Hop Was a Hit – Movie Review
yep, we all have to decide where we need to put the most social media effort. I love twitter and i’m trying really hard right now not to visit cause i’ve got so much darn work to get done. i will probably put the widgets back up someday, but for now, i just don’t have the time to figure out why they’re so screwed up.
I forgot about a plugin called “subscribe sidebar” that will set the fb and other media as a link in one section. Makes it easy for followers to click their favorite way to follow back. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/subscribe-sidebar/ Can install it right through WP admin
Val-Mom Chats recently posted..Hop Was a Hit – Movie Review
thanks so much!
You must feel so free! Here’s a dumb question… how do they connect with you then? Just through twitter? It is a trap to watch the numbers rise and fall. I have noticed the same as others in terms of being engaged or not. Glad it’s helping you to be rid of the things that aren’t working…. all those widgets can make you crazy!
Steph recently posted..Take Five Friday- It’s Been A Week!
oh no! there are icons in the sidebar! i’m just ticked at the widgets. but as soon as those suckers are working again, they’re going back up.
Ah relief! I always wonder about all those follow widgets. I have the follower one on my blog. I had newtwork blog, took it off and can not figure out how to find it again in Newtwork Blogs? I also never have been able to copy/paste the Facebook page like box for my blog Facebook becuase the copy/paste doesn’t work, and I can’t figure out the user name for my page?
Believe me I have tried hours on this, and glad to know I don’t really need them on the blog anyway. I am just trying to relax and work on post content and not all the sidebar clutter.
thank you for sharing your post!!!
Alison recently posted..Nutella ® and the Morning Rush
Alison, Don’t get me wrong, when the widgets work, I like them. They remind visitors to connect because they’re hard to miss and they give my connections some love because it’s a link to them. I also have icons in the sidebar for connecting, but as I’ve noticed from some of these comments, they’re easy to miss.
To get your widget back, sign into facebook, then go to http://www.facebook.com/networkedblogs, click the Go To App button, Click the Profile Link on your left, scroll down to the Blogs I Write section, Click on your blog’s name, and then click the Widget link found under the rating area in the middle of the page. You can then install your widget again. Hope this helps!
Vanita recently posted..Dropping Google Friend Connect and Facebook Like Box
thanks for the information on how to get the widget back. I will give it a try. I think however the Facebook one, I will leave alone for now. Thanks again. Great post!!!
Alison recently posted..Nutella ® and the Morning Rush
you’re welcome and no prob bob!
Hey Vanita,
How are managing without these widgets?
Kuwar Prashant recently posted..InMobi Smartphone Study Reveals 41% of Mobile Users to Buy Apple iPhone 5
they’re working fine lately
Love your post! Almost as if you were reading my mind… and you worded perfectly! LMBO!!! I’m trying to decided on whether or not I show self host… what are your thoughts on this? Blessings, Carla
Carla Karam recently posted..Day 186 ~ It Will Happen!
well i did add it back in eventually. it’s easier for my readers to connect, ya’ know? thanks so much for dropping by! i sent u an email too!
Vanita recently posted..10 To-Dos Bloggers Should Focus On For Search Engine Ranking