f8: Facebook Connect — The Facebook Web

“The majority of good applications will soon come from outside Facebook, not within it.” This according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who announced the social network’s new “Connect” service at the company’s f8 conference today. Connect essentially allows Facebook users to authenticate into third-party Web sites using their Facebook accounts. So, for example, users could log onto a site like Digg with their Facebook identity without ever creating a new profile on Digg. “From the largest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best content as voted on by its community of 26 million,” said Digg founder Kevin Rose. “Facebook Connect will help us promote more conversations on Digg by giving Facebook’s 90 million users an opportunity to sign in to Digg with their Facebook accounts and become part of the active Digg community. This allows both Facebook and Digg users to more easily share the content they care about with the people they care about.”

Developer keys for Facebook Connect are available today. Apps should be rolling out soon.