Google+ – competition for Facebook?
Facebook dominates with about 700 million users the social networking market. Now Google launched with Google+ a project what looks at first glance like a better Facebook. Will Google+ become a serious competitor to Facebook?
As usual the company launched Google+ initially in an early test version, but this time without the otherwise typical beta-lettering. Who wants to use Google+ can be put on a waiting list. This is flanked by a near-launch presentation to send along with small videos that are fueling the interest.
Facebook also offers features that makes it possible to determine exactly what will be shared with whom. However, these functions are relatively hidden, hardly anyone knows them, and so often everything is shared with just everyone. We will discuss in more details in a later post on these hidden features on Facebook.
But back to Google+: Here one must sort his friends from the beginning into groups (Circles). Google’s social network built a steady stream of new content, called Sparks. This can subscribe to articles on specific topics, some of Google suggests, more can be set up by an input field. Two clicks and you set up such a spark. Facebook doesn’t offers a similar function.
Google already has an e-mail service – and therefore Google+ has given no new news service. The chat Google+ uses is already established with the e-mail service chat.
What Facebook has now already – a program, attaching developer apps and games on the network, as well as special pages for companies and organizations – is missing in Google+ yet. This also means that there are so far no pesky waves of spam, no click fraudsters are on the road and no supposedly funny spy apps behind the backs of the user data.
“Hangout” is a video chat, where several users can come together spontaneously, with “Check-in” you can tell your whereabouts (just like on Facebook Places and at Foursquare).
At first glance it seems that Google+ is a network like Facebook, a bit more elegant and seemingly with more control over privacy. But beware! Because Google has apparently been on a new project – and that could make the worst fears of privacy advocates true. Google plans the super-database. Internally, the project operates under the symbol “DDP”, reported the U.S. trade magazine AdAge. Specifically it is about a service for the advertising industry: In the future, Google advertisers can buy access to specific groups of consumers – fine neatly sorted by interests.
Conclusion: After an initial analysis, it hardly seems to be reasons why you should now switch from Facebook to Google+. But why should not two of these networks (among others) exist? Competition is good for business – Google+ certainly is a competitor to Facebook, but certainly nothing “threatening”. But it could be interesting also whether Google+ will have an impact on users of Twitter, because while Facebook has its origins and clear focus on the Social, Google+ seems to have the roots and the opportunities in the Network.
One Response
Webpinoy
In the meantime I have the opportunity to test by myself the new Google+. Obviously it is still in the testings – cause some of the functions are not working yet. So, let’s wait and see what will be the “working” Google+.