Facebook vs. Google +.....the social media war - 2nd August 2011
Posted by Fiona Maverely on August 02, 2011 in Social Media with 0 CommentsThere is a new player in the social media scene, but will they last?
Facebook has been around since 2004 which is ancient in social networking years, with 750 million users and a huge mainstream following, it really does take the title of King of the social networking space. However, there's been waves been made in the water recently about the new player in the game that comes in the shape of Google +, a new social networking site launched this month that there has been a massive media hype about. The gloves are off in both sides of the camps, the question is, is the social network space big enough for the both of them?
I mentioned earlier that Facebook has become mainstream, but there are two sides to the blade in this meaning, has Facebook lost its edge? Anyone in the techie world knows all about Facebook privacy issues, which is one of the reasons their leaving in their herds to join the social security of Google+. With Google+, you decide who sees what, and can divide friends into different groups, so what your college friends see, is not what your boss is going to see showing up on your profile. The idea is simple, but its genius all the same. Coming back to the mainstream point, I raise the question that has Facebook become too crowded? How many friend requests have you received have you asked yourself 'how did that person from 12 years ago who I met that one time at a bus stop actually find me?', or even has your mum showed up? Facebook has lost its exclusivity, everyone is on it.
So then along comes Google+ like a shiny new toy that everyone wants to play with, that at the moment offers membership by invitation only. And everyone wants a piece of it! Is Facebook about to be put on the back shelf right in between Bebo and MySpace?
On top of all this, Facebook have been in a bit of hot water recently with their failed smear campaign against Google. Hiring a PR company to plant negative stories about your rival was not the smartest move by Facebook, but just shows that their willing to get their hands dirty. This has resulted in a media backlash and has sent Facebook running with their tail between their legs. It begs the question; if there are up to this, what else are they up to??
Facebook has taken over desktop based social networking on the web, but in reality, the future is mobile. This is a struggle they are going to face when they do not own the technology. Google already own android and apparently Facebook's relationship with Apple is strained. (Apple is currently in bed with Twitter)
However, all's not rosy in the garden for Google just yet. They have had a number of failures in the past, Google Buzz and Goggle Wave (what the hell was that) to name a few. But have they finally struck gold with Google +? Only time will tell. Right now their users are all early adopters (10 million of them in fact), but their still treading lightly, and should be careful not to get too big for their boots. Remember FriendFeed? Thought not. Well this crowd cooked up an idea that is pretty similar to the Facebook and Goggle+ of today. While it showed signs of being the next big thing with rave press reviews and media hype, it never got passed the early adopters stage and failed to break into the mainstream. Could Google+ go the same way?
Will Facebook be overthrown, only time will tell, but the claws are out and this should be an interesting fight!
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