Facebook and Google Merge Thanks to Israelis

Rabbi Jason Miller Posted on July 11, 2011 Posted in Jewish Techs Blog Tagged with Facebook, Google, Israel, Judaism and Technology, Social Media, Social Networking, Technology, Web

Google is making another effort to successfully compete with Facebook in social networking. Google Buzz and Google Wave never caught on, but Google can’t afford to fail with their latest attempt Google Plus. The problem is that over 750 million people worldwide have already built up their Facebook profiles and might not be willing to invest the time in Google Plus.

Facebook and Google Merge Thanks to Israelis

Leave it to the Israelis to find a way to merge the two platforms. Crossrider, a network of Israeli web developers, just released a new browser extension called Google+Facebook that combines the old Facebook profile with a new Google Plus profile. This merger allows the user to view and post to the Facebook news feed from within Google Plus. The extension was created in only one day on the Crossrider Java framework for browsers, which allows users to create free cross-browser extensions in minutes.

According to Alexandra Man at the No Camels blog, already “more than 10,000 users have already downloaded the Crossrider extension for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer. After installing the extension and allowing it to access Facebook, a small Facebook button will appear in your Google+ window, right next to the Stream button.”

While Google and Facebook will likely never merge and never create any official combination of the Facebook and Google Plus platforms, the Israeli innovators at Crossrider have created a useful extension.

Watch the Crossrider video about the Google+Facebook extension here:

This blog looks at how modern technology affects Jewish life, particularly the impact of the Internet on Jews across the globe. The Internet has made the Jewish community seem smaller. The Jewish Techs blog, written by blogger Rabbi Jason Miller (The Techie Rabbi), explores the places where Jewish culture, education and faith intersect with technology. Of course, like anything, Jews will continue to ask if technology is good or bad for the Jews – the age old question of our people. Good or bad, it is undisputed that technology has changed Jewish life. If you’re Jewish or interested in technology or both… you’ll enjoy the conversation. Thanks for reading the Jewish Techs blog.

Jason Miller is NOT your typical rabbi. Known as the Techie Rabbi, he launched Access Computer Technology in 2010 and has grown it into a full-scale technology firm that provides social media marketing consulting and web design in addition to IT support. Ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary a decade ago, Rabbi Jason has made a name for himself as a popular blogger, social media expert, educator and entrepreneur. Based in Detroit, his congregation includes more than a million people who read his blog and follow him in Cyberspace. He began the Jewish Techs blog in January 2010 as the New York Jewish Week's technology expert.

An entrepreneurial rabbi and an alum of Clal's "Rabbi Without Borders" fellowship, Jason Miller is a rabbi and thought leader whose personal blog has been viewed by millions. The Detroit Free Press called him “the most tech-savvy Jewish leader" and the Huffington Post ranked him among the top Jewish Twitter users in the world. A social media expert, Rabbi Jason is a popular speaker and writer on technology and its effect on the Jewish world. He writes the "Jewish Techs" blog for The Jewish Week and the monthly "Jews in the Digital Age" column for the Detroit Jewish News.

Miller won the 2012 Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the West Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce and is one of the winners of a Jewish Influencer award from the National Jewish Outreach Program.