ESPN.com Moves to Facebook Comments

Starting this past Thursday, ESPN.com comments are now done through Facebook comments / authentication.We had tested over the last several months on various ESPN properties like ESPNW, X Games, Grantland and ESPN's Major League Baseball section. The results were overwhelmingly positive and we are excited about the resulting quality of conversation and social connections made through ESPN + Facebook. With roughly a quarter-million comments each day, we are excited about this step forward and have more to come. Feel free to provide feedback.

"We want people to be candid -- actively engage in strong and thorough debate, but do it in a way without anonymity,” Patrick Stiegman, editor-in-chief of ESPN.com told Poynter. You can read Patrick's entire interview with Poynter here.

Facebook Rolls Out Subscribe to Comments. Improves Product and Promotes the Still-Hard-To-Find Subscribe Feature.

Facebook has begun integrating their new Subscribe functionality into Facebook Comments. It includes a small subscribe link next to each commenter's name / icon that allows in-line subscription. That does a few things: 1. It keep activity on the external site... so publishers love it. 2. It gives yet another incentive for users to comment... so readers love it. 3. And it provides more context for readers as Facebook helps sort content based on relationship, activity and 'following'.

And....

4. It is a great way for Facebook to promote the Subscribe feature which frankly is lost of Facebook.com.... findability, context and usefulness is better off-Facebook.com (just ask Twitter).