This afternoon I read a tweet from Sam Lessin who was authenticated for wireless internet access at the Calgary airport by using Facebook Connect. Most often we think of using Facebook Connect for adding social features to websites but this application of Facebook Connect was used for basic authentication purposes.

I could imagine stopping through an airport in some random location and using Facebook Connect to determine that one of my friends are at the same airport. Sam didn’t specify if this integration added any social features but the concept is an interesting one. In virtual worlds there is often the concept of leaving a digital artifact behind to mark that you’ve been to that location.

The integration of Facebook Connect makes it possible that we will soon visit locations and see which of our other friends or people in our networks have been to that location. How soon exactly? Unfortunately I can’t tell you since this is currently all hypothetical but as usual we will notify you of any new products that help this dream become a reality.

Below I’ve posted a screenshot of the Calgary Airport internet access as uploaded by Sam Lessin. Have you seen Facebook Connect used in similar ways or even more creative ways?