Google Building Third-Party Commenting Platform [REPORT]

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The commenting platform was allegedly discussed at an event Google hosted in Saudi Arabia earlier this week and later confirmed by inside sources to The Next Web. A spokesperson for Google declined to comment on the matter.

With so few details, it's difficult to speculate what sort of impact a Google commenting system would have on the online publishing landscape. Should there be an SEO, and a resulting referral traffic advantage, to using Google's commenting platform, it would likely attract a fair amount of interest among publishers -- even those already using Facebook's commenting system. Google's tool could also pose a threat to independent commenting platforms such as Disqus, Livefyre and Intense Debate.

In addition to a commenting system, news emerged from the Saudi Arabia event that Google would roll out vanity URLs for Google+ users in the near future.