ANYway: This is my first post again. Whatever, as Jay-Z said: "You not feelin me? Fine, costs you nothin pay me no mind."
My original post was going to be "Google vs. Facebook". I realized how cliche this sounded, as everyone and their dog thinks Google is trying to take down Facebook through Google+. This is false, as Google doesn't need to take Facebook on. Facebook has less of a product base then Google does. Even more so today, since Google has Chrome OS and Android under its belt. These are actual Google products that are being used in the market today. Facebook on the other hand...well...isn't. My point being, I don't have to compare market advantages or numbers in most cases because it's like arguing apples and oranges. Sure, they have similar ideas or intellectual property. That doesn't mean they are direct competitors.
I think of it like this:
It really frustrates me that the writing isn't bigger. I'm lazy though so...didn't do it again. The left says Facebook, the right Google. The middle is us. Viola! Good picture. Moving on:
They aren't direct competitors you see. They just feed off each other. Ad revenue is high in both. Facebook has double the population of the US (and then some) and Google is...well...Google. I mean, you don't go around saying: "Yeah, I can't find this *insert destination here*, will someone Bing it?" or "I don't know what *insert search query here* is, someone Yahoo! it." Nope, you Google it. It's a household name. Boom. You want to update your status? Facebook. You want to find whatever? You Google it.
So now that I've established that I'm actually a Google fan boy but Facebook is cool too, I'm going to drop some reasons why I think Google may catch a few people (that is...FB, Apple, Twitter etc.) off guard.
1. The +1
This was the copycat to the Facebook "Like". It was a good idea, and Google recognized that. The difference being that there isn't an annoying share window that pops up. It's just boop! shared publicly. It doesn't show up in your feed though. This is key. Why? Because that means your feed isn't dominated by your shared links. They can find that somewhere else. You can share links of course, but that +1 just succinctly adds your approval to a particular page. Done. Sneaky Mr. Anderson...very sneaky. Honestly, I don't think the full value of the +1 (and even the "Like") has been fully realized yet. Social networking has a huge advertising ability. These little buttons just go to show that it's only the beginning. However, with Google being the integrated search engine it is and the fact that it's just integrating itself in our phones, web browsers, soon to be TV's etc..just goes to show that it has just started. That little +1 has been added not only to websites, but Marketplace (books, music, apps, movies). This tied into a little social networking platform we'll talk on later.
2. Media (Music, Movies and YouTube)
One of the smartest business decisions of Google was the acquisition of YouTube. It's one of the most visited sites in the world. It hosts too many videos to comprehend. Google added a Movie marketplace to YouTube, did you know that? The Android Marketplace has movies too...seeing a trend? There are many reasons why YouTube isn't as publicly known as the Marketplace, but that isn't the point for this particular discussion. Facebook's recent attempt at renting movies. Lovely yes? It does exist, especially trying to find that little link...OH there it is. Last but not least we have music. Ho boy. Let's just say: An article by Mashable did well in summarizing the three major services currently available. I know that there are more minor services out there. However, these three are specific to storage of music. Here's my thing: iTunes charges. The only reason it can survive is the sheer size of iTunes as it stands. Google? Free up to 25,000 songs. Google also has HTML5, catering to Apples fortunetelling and enabling iPod Touch/iPhone users to access the selfsame music service. Can I access my iTunes collection from an Android device? Nope. Granted, it requires an internet connection...but this is a cloud service. Of course it requires an Internet connection. Jeez. For the record, I'm intentionally ignoring Amazon's cloud service. Read the Mashable article if you want a true comparison. Of course, tied into a little social networking platform I'm getting to.
3. Apps/Android
Finally, there is Android and subsequently apps. Android as everyone knows is Apples biggest competitor, and recently revealed to have Jobs eternal hatred. Thermonuclear is a tad harsh in my opinion...but also it's TOTALLY last decade. Come on Steve. We had cell phones in Kirk's days of Star Trek and all you can think of to take down Android is nukes? What about a iRobot thing? That was just cool. I just hope Siri doesn't get any ideas. So instead of Steve saying:
"I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” Jobs said. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this."He could have been like:
"I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 BEELION in the bank, to right this wrong," Jobs said. "I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to STAB THAT OPERATING SYSTEM WITH NANITES."See? That so kicks ass. I'm just saying: if John Connor had some nanites Skynet wouldn't have stood a chance. You know this. I digress...
Android is going to get a "universal" update soon, termed Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0. It's the attempt to homogenize all the different versions of Android out there. We have some devices still running 2.2 (known as Froyo) and 2.3 (known as Gingerbread). Alphabetical deserts. How cute. Honeycomb 3.0 is for tablet devices (a market Apple still easily dominates). The point to all this is: see how many versions we have out there? One advantage of Apple at the moment is the ability to update their phones at the same time, due to identical hardware. Up until recently it was just by hooking up to iTunes, but Apple released this brand new, never before seen over the air updates! Oh wait...Android has been doing that for a while now...anyway, Android is quickly becoming the easy alternative to iOS, and some say on the way to becoming the standard. I don't believe that is true. If there is one thing Apple does right, and that is interface. Let alone Mac, people love that interface. I know I do, and I'm using an Android device. I have an iPod touch, and the access to the app store is lovely. Either way, Android is moving up and will eventually plateau, but the question is where. All this, tied into a social networking platform I've yet to describe.
4. Google+
Launched without fanfare, which I take as a nod to Facebook's origins. Invite only at first (even Gmail used to be), Google+ ballooned to 10 million users in a very short time. Currently estimates are around 18 million users. Of course, this is paltry compared to the 800 million users of Facebook. Curious note though: 75% of Facebook's users are outside the United States. Huh. Another curious note: It took 2 years for Facebook to reach the same amount of users that Google+ reached in 1/3 of that time. Of course, Facebook had limited exposure...but that begs the question why only 25% of Facebook's population is in the US...I dunno.
Anyway, Google+ is growing. Maybe it will plateau, but I doubt it will ever really stop. Integration is just too much. Speaking of integration: All those services that are mentioned above? All are somehow integrated into Google+. Not necessarily into the main feed, assuming your circles are what they are, but your +1's that you share publicly are there, the movies that you care to share are there. Oh, and Google Music allows sharing of music for a one time full listen to your circles, and samples after that. Yummy. Google+ just started, and integration is at it's infancy. This means that party is just getting started.
It's a really exciting time for us consumers of the electronics. Developments, changes and progress are the way of the world of technology. We users, that is: you me and that dude over there texting while walking about to get hit by the girl texting while driving, are the devourers of that technology. As much money as these companies make...they are always balanced by our satisfaction. If we don't like it, we don't buy it. If we don't like it, we write about it (free speech +1<---lol get it?) and we crucify it. Just look at Myspace, or Yahoo! or any other number of companies that have either been way ahead of the curve or desperately behind it. Companies understand that, at least for the moment.
I'm a Google fan boy, I admit it. That does not mean that I utterly abhor all other technologies out there. I appreciate what each type of technology can do. iPad's have their niche, Android tablets have theirs so on and so forth. Facebook is the single strongest social networking platform. I use it, and will continue to use it. I love Google Music, but I have iTunes and will continue to use my iPod Touch. Although, those usages may drop due to Google stuff coming out, but I'm not going to write off anyone just yet. That's the beauty of it: it's anybody's game.
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