In an effort to expand the reach of its social network, Google on Monday announced that third-party publishers can now embed Google+ posts into their websites.
Simply put: A site like AllThingsD could grab a publicly-made Google+ status update and, with the addition of a snippet of code, display it in a story.
At this point among the major players in social, it's a table stakes move. Twitter has long had embeds available, pitching the feature heavily to news sites and consumer outlets. And now both Facebook - which has made strides to surface more public-facing activity as of late - and Instagram have done the same. Google+ is a natural addition.
It's certainly a sensible move for all three companies, each of which aims for broad consumer recognition and appeal. It's also a trojan horse for potential new user signups if readers click through to the original social site.
Still, part of me wonders if there's a "peak embed" point. That is to say, if users will grow confused at the multiple types of embedded posts, and thereby not be inspired to click through. Or perhaps the different types of embedded posts will run together, and no one network will stand out.
Embeds should be available to publishers beginning today, with instructions on how to make it work found here.
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