Mary Whitfill
Features Editor

Beyond the media attention Facebook was already receiving, the recent release and award show domination of The Social Network has only increased awareness of the world’s largest social networking site. With all eyes on the next move, the world has been waiting to see what Facebook changes will be rolled out next. According to Cnet News, the site will be launching a third party commenting system in a matter of weeks.

The new commenting product will be an extension of the already available system, which allows users to link multiple Facebook pages.  Currently, Facebook users are able to use their profiles to alert others of their activity on outside sites. The new system will be able to allow users to handle the entire commenting process. They will be able to control the log-in, publishing, cross promoting and possible even promoting comments on media outlets’ fan pages. And, sticking with a classic Facebook feature, the ‘like’ button will most likely be integrated as well.

Although nothing has yet been released for review, the concept is reminiscent of TimesPeople, a commenting and social news system launched several years ago by the New York Times.

Also hinted at by the product description, the commenting product may also permit users to log in using Google, Yahoo or Twitter IDs if a publisher chooses to incorporate the outside sites. These connections would be more than surprising considering the bad-feelings that are rumored to heve already existing between the executives of Facebook, Google and Twitter. Facebook blocked both a google date-portability product called Friend Connect several years ago, and most recently blocked a twitter friend-finder that trawled Facebook contact lists.

It has been predicted that this new product could reflect poorly on the Facebook executives and created even more animosity as it is an obvious direct competitor with other sites that already  provide commenting technology, such as Disqus and Echo.