China’s biggest search engine, Baidu, is today rolling out its own third-party login service, Baidu Connect, wrapped around its open API platform.
It will allow people to sign into numerous third party sites using their Baidu account credentials. Already today Sohu, Yesky, group buying site Lashou, and Baidu’s own Qiyi have all added the Baidu Connect option. More third-party sites will follow in due course.
A number of China’s major web platforms already have a similar API and Connect-like service, following the lead of Facebook. Tencent was one of the first in China to do so, with its ‘OpenSNS’ framework, while Kaixin, Renren, Alibaba’s Alipay, and Sina Weibo all have their own.
This is evidenced by the sheer number of colourful little badges on, for example, Lashou.com’s login page – now nine in total – which each represent a different login option for users, to save them the hassle of registering a new ID with that site. When you click the Baidu Connect badge, you’re taken to their new connecting page, as pictured above.
You can check out Baidu’s Open Developer Platform here, where you can take a look at other projects that third-party developers and sites can utilize, such as Baidu Maps and their input-method editor for Chinese text input.
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