Earlier this week, Google launched its new Google+-powered commenting system for Blogger, but it’s not clear when the company plans to release it for the rest of the web. Now, however, intrepid developer Brandon Holtsclaw has managed to bring the Google+ commenting system to any WordPress blog. While Google’s code for the new commenting system isn’t optimized for WordPress or other sites yet, it’s actually quite portable and seems to work without problems.
Looking at Holtsclaw’s code, it looks like packaging Google+ comments into a WordPress plugin is actually pretty straightforward. Google isn’t doing anything to prevent users from recycling its code on other sites, so chances are it won’t take any active steps to stop site owners from using them on non-Blogger sites.
If you want to try Google+ comments on your blog, you can download the plugin here (and it should also be available in the WordPress Plugins Directory soon). It’s worth noting, though, that these comments, unlike similar systems from Disqus or Livefyre, aren’t integrated with WordPress, so you won’t be able to manage them from your regular WordPress dashboard.
When it launched the new commenting system last week, the company said that it would allow Blogger users to make it easier to engage with their commenters and “see activity from direct visitors, and from people talking about [their] content on Google+.”
Because the WordPress Google+ commenting widget uses the exact same code as Google’s blogger implementation, all of the features remain the same. By default, comments are sorted by “top comments,” but users can also switch to “newest first.” There is also an option to just see comments from people in your Google+ circles.
Hat tip: Benjamin Kerensa
