• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 10, 2010

It almost seems like a joke, but it's not. A warning message from Google suggests that Gmail users should stop and give careful consideration before importing contact information into Facebook.

The message, in response to the ongoing feud between Google and Facebook, gives users the "not-so-fine print," making it clear to all that Facebook "doesn't allow you to re-export your data to other services, essentially locking up your contact data about your friends." So once the data is imported, the user can't export it, and that's something Google thinks is important for folks to know.

The feud that appears to have prompted the message, initially identified by a UK online publication."

Problems began last week when Google changed the terms of use to prevent Facebook from accessing Gmail's Contact API. It's all about who gets to know whose friends and download information into what application.

So, Facebook posted a workaround to import Google contacts. And, Gmail does provide a method to export Gmail contacts.

Facebook's workaround requires members to upload their contacts onto their own computer, then upload them into Facebook, which takes a little more time than clicking a button.

And those workarounds could become more prevalent. As the opening of the social graph requires more sites to share information, relationships and agreements will only become more complicated. Larry Allen, chief revenue officer at Kikin, which integrates social sites into a toolbar-like application, says companies will make requests to access more information. He calls Kikin a "personal browser companion," suggesting that over time it evaluates what users like and don't, serving up content that is most suited for the person's likes more often.

Kikin integrates "my favorites" into the "personal browser companion." The feature called "my Web always with me" mixes the ability to share the content with friends. The idea is to consume content on demand, integrate favorite sources, and not get burdened with irrelevant stuff. It has similar functions to the browser RockMelt, which launched in beta this week. The tool adds layers of social services. Those layers will force companies to either get along or develop workarounds, similar to Facebook.