Recently Google released the APIs for Google+ integration and immediately I started to dream of the possibilities.
In a post by Stefan Svartling, I became aware that Google have switched to Google+ comments for Blogger. This is an important change for Blogger, as driving engagement through social media is much easier than asking someone to create a login specifically for your website.
Imagine if you could do that with WordPress…
A quick search gave me exactly what I was looking for, a plugin by the name of Comments Evolved which allows you to log in and comment using your existing social media accounts.
I downloaded and installed the plugin straight away to test it out. Once activated you can view and edit the settings for it.
You can see from the screenshot above the settings are very straightforward. I chose Google+ and Facebook for mine and so added the labels for them. Here is what they look like on my post Supercharge your Google+ profile.
Needless to say, the Facebook tab is a similar experience.
What I found interesting and brilliant at the same time, is that just by copying and pasting the link from my blog to Google+ and posting about it there, Comments Evolved counts that as a comment on the page. All of the engagement in the screenshot above was generated within Google+ itself and not via the blog.
I have witnessed a few people recently commenting on the engagement they see on their blogs dropping, compared with the engagement they see on social networks. Well, this may just be the answer!