Facebook launches a Subscribe button for web sites

ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORK Facebook has introduced a 'Subscribe' button that can be added to external web sites.

The Subscribe button has been on Facebook since September and is now available to place on any web site. The button is similar to the 'Follow' button on Twitter and will give users updates in their Facebook news feeds.

Stoyan Stefanov, a developer at Facebook said, "The Subscribe button for websites works just like the button on Facebook; once clicked the user will begin seeing the public posts of the person they have subscribed to in his or her News Feed."

The Subscribe button can be added to a web site using XFBML or an Iframe in the same way as the 'Like' button. The former allows more flexibility, such as resizing.

"The subscribe action is also shared - allowing others to subscribe directly via the News Feed stories, and further increasing viral distribution." added Stefanov.

The Facebook Subscribe button is already being used on a number of web sites including Absolute Radio, Ministry of Sound, NME and Time. µ