Will Facebook go the way of Myspace? Yes it is true that the habits and expectations of internet users have always shifted from one emerging trend to the other – Yahoo, Flickr, Myspace… will Facebook also be included among the ‘has beens’? Sorry I do not intend to answer that question. I am looking from another angle.
Google isn’t after Facebook directly; they have more tricks in the bag. Facebook is just a major hurdle to cross in gaining total access to every individual’s online experience. In other words, it seems Google is after a greater objective: YOU. Google is at the verge of gaining ownership of user experience on the internet. While Facebook is a social networking platform, the array of Google’s tools will ensure your experience on the internet is tied to their brand – Gmail, Youtube, Search, Alert , Trends, Insight for Search, Gmaps… now G+, who spends a week without one of these tools? The rapid rise of Google+ is tied to its ability to pool data from its other resources to support the new platform. Google is attempting to create a single platform which delivers all-round online user experience for the online user and Google+ will supply the data to help them get very specific and targeted in their approach. When it comes to targeted messaging, Facebook’s strength is its ability to be very specific and the competition for this revenue angle is what Google needs to add to its boutique of services. Armed with the social networking platform, they are on their way to regaining its pole position as the most powerful online brand for – what does that mean for the world poiltics + business, we will wait to see. It is also an interesting insight to realise most of Facebook’s traffic comes from Google.
Will Google knock off Facebook from its pole position? The power to keep anyone of them as the leading brand in social media space is not only in their power to deploy innovative solutions – That is for us to decide.
