Before you think this is just another one of those “Is Google+ a Facebook Killer?” type of posts, it’s not. I’ve been seeing how Google have been shaping things up when it comes to their new baby.
After being burnt several times in the Social space, it seems that not only have Google potentially cracked it this time around, but it seems their vision and plans that are starting to materialise may actually have a lot of potential to be a true threat to Facebook – and I mean it.
I warn you now – this may become a long post, so I recommend you grab your favourite beverage and pay attention. I will break down the areas where I feel Google are really playing clever and giving my thoughts as to what could be going on. Ready? Let’s start.
The launch
Building buzz
OK, so Google+ launched with a bit of a frenzy as it was invite only to begin with. This sparked a lot of buzz about the service, especially within the industry. Invites were being begged for left right and centre (I am not ashamed to admitting I was begging).You don’t need me to tell you how this scarcity tactic allowed there to be plenty of coverage over the social media and blogging space. I was even surprised to see the BBC cover it briefly on the news. This kind of coverage will raise interest levels and – well you get the rest.
Was there a real “bug” allowing the floodgates to open with invites? Google had to suspend any new accounts for a period of time as once inside, anyone could invite anyone. Of course, this resulted in further coverage (not bad hey?)
Videos
Google also produced some slick videos describing the service and what it did. They really focused on the fact that currently Social Networking is still yet to compare with how we network in real life. The Circles feature seemed a big hit, and really did highlight Facebook’s downfalls when it comes to segregating out your contacts, as well as the – many times berated – difficult privacy settings.Mobile
Google have a policy (put in place approximately a year or so ago) where anything they release from that point on has to work on mobile. Even things such as Google Instant had to work on mobile before launching, so it was of no surprise that a mobile app was made immediately available for Android, and the iPhone version was submitted to the App Store (subsequently released about 3 weeks later).The feedback about the apps appears to be pretty positive overall, with Google already releasing a few updates to ensure the user experience is the best it can be. Integrating very nicely with Android, it’s easy to share content, photos and videos.
Initial User Base
The initial user base was primarily of the tech, social media, SEO type crowd – the type that would take more of an interest than the average person on the street. This in turn will mean that reviews, blog posts, videos, interviews etc are very likely to be conducted about Google+, giving Google access to uncensored feedback about the product – allowing Google to make any changes they felt necessary. Some great crowd sourcing potential there.Celebrities and Industry Leaders
Google is also said to be actively courting celebrities and industry leaders to get them over to Google+ When Twitter started having celebrities use the service, it really exploded the adoption rate of the mainstream internet user, so this could well have a similar effect on Google+Of course, the adoption of celebrities also means that they will promote the service via their other channels – namely Twitter and Facebook.
William Shatner is a great example how he spoke about his Google+ account on Twitter – more recently about how his account got suspended due to a violation of terms. This however appeared to be in error and the account was re-instated. What happened? More media coverage (even if it could have a negative spin).
Product Consolidation
Soon after the initial launch, Google made announcements that two of their biggest platforms – Blogger and Picasa will be merging into Google+ So that’s one of the biggest blogging platforms (of course, it has smaller market share now) and a photo sharing service being brought into the Google+ experience, making it potentially a great platform for existing users of those channels.
By gradually merging services, Google is able to increase it’s user base, and adoption by taking away the barrier of having to set up yet another account somewhere else.
Google’s Larry Page (CEO) has also indicated a new approach, by being more focussed, so expect more services to be integrated in the future (they have plenty!)
Potential Products for Consolidation
Google has plenty of products, that’s no secret, and with this new focussed approach, what are the possible products to see a merge into Google+?
Google Books could see an integration with users being able to recommend and discuss books right within the service. Want to +1 a book to recommend to your friends? Go ahead.
Google Checkout is a very interesting concept. It’s been around for several years now and has maturity. S-Commerce (Social Commerce) could well be a much easier experience within Google+ than within Facebook. Facebook relies on 3rd party apps if businesses want to sell within Facebook. Google however, have their own system. I’ll let that thought stew a little bit…
Maps could see integration with the added ability to check in and share locations with friends. Organise a get together with your friends on your mobile by using the Huddle feature, and share locations for easy directions.
News could make an appearance, to allow you to access the news quickly and easily, and switch between your friend stream and world news. Like a story and +1′d it? Google could learn the type of news you are interested in and showcase featured news upfront. What do your friends like? How about a section of top news your friends liked? It’s all possible. Google+ as your first destination online anyone?
Product Search would be an amazing integration. Buying online, along with friend reviews and +1′s would be a powerful sales tool. Google could potentially only allow businesses that use Google Checkout to appear within Google+, therefore getting a slice of the revenue and increasing uptake of their checkout service.
Google Docs would be useful to allow collaboration. Google Wave was said to be the next big thing when it came to online collaboration. I personally feel it was ahead of it’s time. Integrating Google Docs into Google+ could see sharing of documents within your circles, as well as video conferencing to discuss your documents using Hangout.
Gmail is arguably one of their biggest products. Fancy having access to your Gmail within your Google+ account? Well that’s surely possible – allowing for everything to be within easy reach.
Business Pages
Of course, as with anything new, users test the limits to see what they can create and it was no surprise that businesses were keen to get in on the act by creating a presence within Google+.
Google were reluctant to allow this to happen seeing as they have plans to release a full on business page offering and let everyone know that they will be removing such profiles that are passing off as a business. Once again, this lead to more media coverage, and several big name pages were taken down.
It seems Google really wants to make a go of this platform for business use and by making businesses wait (other than a select few testing partners). Google is in a position to offer a lot to businesses with existing products and services that cater to businesses of all shapes and sizes.
I’m sure they’d also be keen to offer much more than Facebook, so no doubt that is why they are waiting to release the functionality.
After all, Google has Google Places, Hotpot, Analytics and more which could all be accessible via Google+, so even then they could potentially offer more data to their business users than Facebook.
Acquisitions
As recently as 21st July, it was announced that Google acquired Fridge (frid.ge) the social network that operated primarily on allowing their users to create bespoke groups and only share with who they wanted to share with. Very similar sounding to how Circles operates within Google+
Google have likely seen Fridge’s technology as something which would be beneficial to them moving forward and it’s this type of acquisition that is likely to speed up Google’s attempt at becoming the social network of choice.
Search and Social
For a while now, I saw Bing as a threat to Google (seriously) why? Well simply due to the partnership with Facebook. They are able to access data that Google hasn’t – allowing them to integrate social elements within search much sooner (if logged into Facebook)
But in order for Bing to become a natural choice for users, I felt it really needed to be integrated into Facbook much more effectively. This has yet to happen, and Facebook have been slow to turn their search bar into and all singing, all dancing search tool that would give people the choice to search online without leaving Facebook and heading to Google. Let’s face it, they’ve already made several attempts to make Facebook your home page – something which I’m sure Google currently has the larger uptake.
What does Google do best? Search. They now have a social platform that can finally see the more streamlined integration that Bing has been striving for. The advantage? If take up continues as it has done so far, Google will have their own data to access. They won’t need to rely on Facebook or any other service for that matter.
Facebook have really been caught napping. Google are striving for a way of integrating social search without the need for 3rd parties. Facebook really should have enriched their internal search functionality much sooner – giving users an excuse to use Facebook as their central hub.
Along with the products listed above that could see integration to Google+, Google already have them, and they are matured. Facebook however does not. It has 3rd party developers.
Advertising and Display
Now we’re talking. Show me the money! It’s no secret Google have built up their fortune via advertising. They allow adverts within GMail, so why not Google+? Simple to integrate I’m sure.
One of the biggest reasons advertisers are jumping over to Facebook is the demographic targeting. Google is beaten hands down in that regard – there’s no question. But wait a minute, Google+ will give them access to demographic information. Ideal for Adwords advertisers. You watching Facebook?
Facebook is Helping Google
It seems Facebook’s reaction to Google+ could actually be giving it an added boost. It was natural for new users of Google+ to want to try and migrate their Facebook friends over to their new account.
Various developers created applications in Facebook and in Google Chrome to allow for such an export. Facebook didn’t take too kindly to this and have been subsequently blocking these apps. The result? More coverage for Google, and more displeasure aimed at Facebook.
Recently Facebook suspended the account and all advertisements run by a user, advertising his Google+ account. The advert (below) seemed to rub Facebook up the wrong way, and the advertiser was contacted about the account suspension. Well played Facebook – more media attention to Google.
The fact Facebook are trying desperately to rain on Google’s parade, it could actually help them instead. After all, if you tell people not to do things, they are more compelled to do it. Keeping quieter and not reacting so heavy handed may have been a better approach in the hope that people will try Google+ for a short time, and move back to Facebook.
Gaming
There are discussions on the table between Google and game developers to allow for gaming within Google+ This proved to be a massive hit with Facebook users, and arguably was one of the reasons so many people not only got into using Facebook, but started using it every day, and for long periods of time per session.
Google is said to be offering a better deal for game developers than Facebook, so it would be no surprise if some of the big guns like Zynga where being courted to get some games (maybe even exclusive) onto the Google+ platform.
Final Thoughts
Told you it was going to be a long post! With the above points in mind, how do you now feel about Google+? Do you feel it can now truly compete with Facebook, or will Facebook be destined to rule to roost for a long time yet?
Could the success of Google+ actually give Google more of a headache with potential anti monopoly laws? After all, if people are not only using Google to search, but to shop, socialise, collaborate and play games – that’s quite a domination across most markets.
The above certainly seems to give Google+ a lot more potential than what we may have previously thought. This could be worrying times for Facebook. Some of the worries they already appear to be showing.
What do you think? Hit us up in the comments with your thoughts and theories.
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