Hasn't google already taken a huge step towards this with their +1 initiative (which is obviously tied to G+)?
With Google's velocity, I think they're probably going to get to "social search" first (good luck to Blekko, but reliance on FB is not going to scale - especially when FB looks to monetize - social search is their meal ticket).
It is a long bet, but I think the inherent advantages (in both improving search quality and in declawing Facebook) for Google of making the social features commodity will lead this to happen. It needs to happen slowly, as there are lot of unknown unknowns. The first release of the G+ API will set the tone.
I already discover most new content via Facebook and the only missing piece is search. If Facebook builds a search engine and integrates within its core experience sooner than Google takes to get G+ to work and scale, it would be a good indication of who might eventually win. From the social perspective, Facebook already has the mental association at a massive scale that may be tough for G+ to get to, especially considering Google is perceived to be "more utility than fun" across its user base.
I wondered that is what google would want, but I dont see how they can make G+ mandatory for their search customers. This would mean you would have to be signed into to google to search.
And it is just not that G+ is not actively used , Facebook has been adding real users and is growing. Forget the fact I won't move to G+ until 50 of my 150 friends move to g+( which is a very low # among my friends, most of them have atleast few hundered ). you will have to export your pictures and some other personalized content to another site. IMO, the best time for a new social venture to gain traction is when it is new on the block. and google has failed. honcho's at google will admit the failure and move on from the social networking space, if their compensations are not tied to g+.
I don't think it will matter if they do. The integration of Google+ with Google's other products is what will drive the adoption. It's basically impossible to avoid. I can imagine even tighter integration with Google's offerings down the road. Like accepting an invite to an event could automatically add it to your Google Calendar. Or allowing you to sync your contacts with your circles.
That said, I also don't think Facebook is going anywhere any time soon. But it'll certainly be interesting to see Facebook's first moves in response to G+.
That seems unlikely. +1 was integrated with their product before G+ launched, they already own the social graph, Google+ is about as close to their brand as possible without being their brand, and this name has gotten a lot of exposure. They can't afford to confuse people if they're trying to get a userbase on par with Facebook.
Yes I think people often mistake that the goal of G+ was to compete or replace FB in people's daily lives. I think it was to make sure that Google has enough data to provide socially relevant targeting that FB claimed only they could provide at that time. And another was to establish a beachhead in social space as a contender should FB make a privacy or any other faux pas as they grow.
I think Google has largely succeeded in doing that.
The thing is that Facebook is likely implementing literally everything that is on Google+ right now. If they launch every feature they have before Google+ goes public then the only advantages that Google can possibly maintain is integration with their other products.
This article hit the nail on the head. It doesn't matter if G+ hasn't "beaten" Facebook yet (or ever). Google are clearly playing the long game here, and they have deep pockets... they will continue to integrate G+ into their other products, continue to iterate and improve and continue to grow G+.
There are some things G+ desperately needs to make it as useful as it could be, such as a complete API and support for OpenSocial apps. But I expect they'll get it all nailed over time.
I have faith in Google+. Google has a big trump in the shape of the Android Market, which does not offer integration with Facebook. The Market is growing rapidly, as is the number of Android users. It's difficult to speculate how, but I have a feeling this will come in play in the future.
I don't know what Google's aim is with Google+. If they're not aiming to replace one of the current social networks, then yeah sure, they can succeed.
Chrome was a completely different beast, and I suppose the best way to differentiate is on brand relevance vs brand preference. IE and FF were still browsers. No one said "go internet explorer" - but people do say "Oh yeah, go Facebook me" or "yeah Facebook that kay?" When I think of sharing something online, I think Facebook or Twitter, and not "social network".
Yes, Google has a large market share in a small amount of time. What are their usage details? I still haven't seen anything on G+ that hasn't been on my FB feed, or been tweeted first. Also, unlike Chrome, I don't feel G+ offers any drastically different features.
Ok, this is speculation. But this is all speculation. I guess we just need to wait.
I suspect you are correct. I think Google wants G+ to be a useful way for people to find people they know, as that is the sole reason many people are on Facebook.
I think Google+ biggest bet right now is to spot, or introduce, the way people will live the web tomorrow. Changing it from Search to Discover.
And no, it can't relay completely on our friend's interests (à la Facebook) cause they're their interests not ours.
We'll probably stick much and much more to our beloved communities (topics, not friends) and start every web-related activity from there.
That's something Google can't let Facebook win on.
G+ is also about giving Google a much richer social relationships graph than anyone has ever had. I can only wonder at the long-term effects of the information asymmetries that are developing. At least with twitter (and fb, for that matter) most of the relationships were public.
This is an awesome analysis. I think the best thing to come out of Google+ is the clarification of kinds of digital social interactions and how we might tackle those in the (short-term) future. Maybe even Facebook or Google will iterate and offer robust solutions here.
This is a bit far afield. The most likely prospect for G+ is that it becomes a social network for the more technically inclined while Facebook remains the social network for all -- a bit like the differentiation between reddit and digg. The main reason is not something great that Google is doing, however, but the immense dislike that many have for Facebook. Facebook, of course, is sucking in all data it can get access to regardless of whether it has any legitimate reason to take that data and, despite willful violation of data protection laws, is likely to remain above the law like many other protected parties.
I think the long term hope is that Google+ might become something like Gmail is to Outlook. G+ is the innovative, feature-driven, technologically saavy option, whereas even if more people use the "Outlook" option today, because of the technological advances attached to the "Gmail" option, people will transition to it over time.
That said, I think that is the best possible option and I don't have any reason to think that G+ is really delivering in any meaningful way on these hopes. Let's see if they actually can stay one technological step ahead of Facebook. Some better APIs would be nice...
With Google's velocity, I think they're probably going to get to "social search" first (good luck to Blekko, but reliance on FB is not going to scale - especially when FB looks to monetize - social search is their meal ticket).
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