Google+ isn't going to plan apparently - http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/27/google-minus/
Whilst they've brought on around 10 million new users, there is nothing compelling to make those new users stay...
Thursday 28 July 2011
Monday 11 July 2011
Google+ vs Facebook
There's a select few out there who have had the privilege of being able to give the much hyped Google+ a bit of a test run - i'm not one of them. Google clearly don't know who I am. I've left Eric Schmidt countless messages, but he's yet to return my calls. If I don't receive an invite on a silver platter soon, I may have to resort to utilising Google Earth to locate his house and pay him a visit. I'd get Marc Zuckerberg to give me a hand, if only he'd stop ignoring my calls as well.
However, in the mean time i've been doing a bit of research into this new phenomenon, designed to take it to Facebook and further develop Googles plans of world domination. Is it going to present real competition? I'm not so sure.
Facebook has so cemented itself into our daily lives (much like Google has in way of a search engine) that the idea that anybody, including a company as powerful as Google, could cause the millions of 'Bookers to migrate over to a new social network is pretty unlikely. Granted, some might have said the same about MySpace before Facebook leap frogged over it a few years ago, but this is a different beast altogether.
If you look into the key selling points of Google+ which are supposed to whet the appetite of the average social networking junkie, in my opinion they're not that impressive. The first one is Circles, meaning the idea that you can now separate the different groups of people in your life such as friends, family and work colleagues.
If you're a fourteen year old hooligan worried about your mum seeing the latest picture of you being sick on yourself after one too many Bacardi Breezers then perhaps I could see the value in wanting to filter what you broadcast on your Profile page. But then again, what self respecting fourteen year old hooligan wants to even talk to his mum, let alone chat and share pictures with her on a social network site?
As for the grown ups who are worried about their work colleagues, what on earth is it you're getting up too that is so bad that you can't let them see it?
The next feature designed to shake the ground we walk on is Hangouts. Basically, this is the concept of letting other people online know that you're 'hanging out' and you can then 'drop by' via face to face technology. In other words, think of Skype. Wow.
Granted, this isn't easily available to do on Facebook at the moment but how hard would it be implement it into the current set up? Facebook has proven to be so agile over the years, that something like this clearly isn't far away anyway.
The final selling point is Sparks. Sparks looks for videos and articles that you'll like (presumably based on your browsing history) and sends them over to you to view and share. Facebook pretty much does this already.
However, in the mean time i've been doing a bit of research into this new phenomenon, designed to take it to Facebook and further develop Googles plans of world domination. Is it going to present real competition? I'm not so sure.
Facebook has so cemented itself into our daily lives (much like Google has in way of a search engine) that the idea that anybody, including a company as powerful as Google, could cause the millions of 'Bookers to migrate over to a new social network is pretty unlikely. Granted, some might have said the same about MySpace before Facebook leap frogged over it a few years ago, but this is a different beast altogether.
If you look into the key selling points of Google+ which are supposed to whet the appetite of the average social networking junkie, in my opinion they're not that impressive. The first one is Circles, meaning the idea that you can now separate the different groups of people in your life such as friends, family and work colleagues.
If you're a fourteen year old hooligan worried about your mum seeing the latest picture of you being sick on yourself after one too many Bacardi Breezers then perhaps I could see the value in wanting to filter what you broadcast on your Profile page. But then again, what self respecting fourteen year old hooligan wants to even talk to his mum, let alone chat and share pictures with her on a social network site?
As for the grown ups who are worried about their work colleagues, what on earth is it you're getting up too that is so bad that you can't let them see it?
The next feature designed to shake the ground we walk on is Hangouts. Basically, this is the concept of letting other people online know that you're 'hanging out' and you can then 'drop by' via face to face technology. In other words, think of Skype. Wow.
Granted, this isn't easily available to do on Facebook at the moment but how hard would it be implement it into the current set up? Facebook has proven to be so agile over the years, that something like this clearly isn't far away anyway.
The final selling point is Sparks. Sparks looks for videos and articles that you'll like (presumably based on your browsing history) and sends them over to you to view and share. Facebook pretty much does this already.
The point is that I can't quite see the innovation here. I haven't yet come across anything which I feel is going to disrupt the current market place. There is nothing here that Facebook either hasn't thought of, isn't planning on doing or isn't doing at the moment in some form. The reason why Facebook hasn't slumped to the back of the queue like MySpace has is because it has an innate ability to evolve.
Have the talented people at Google become complacent and dare I say arrogant? Rather than really looking to break new boundaries at a time when social media is fully integrated into our daily lives, Google is relying on its name power to draw people in.
The problem is, Google may be the king of search engines and it may have its pristine fingers in a number of different pies but on this evidence, when it comes to social networking Facebook has nothing to worry about. Twitter and LinkedIn have survived and prospered because they have wisely not tried to tackle Facebook and instead have offered something which can compliment it. Google, being Google, are going straight for the jugular of Facebook and I think this will be the reason it will not be successful.
This my own view and you may find me eating a large slice of humble pie in a few months time when I invite you to 'hangout' on Google+, but for the time being i'm going to be pretty obnoxious about the whole thing and push my view on anybody who'll listen. Oh and by the way, if you see Eric Schmidt, tell him i'm looking for him.
Monday 4 July 2011
Has Drupal got competition?
In this article, Techcrunch has revealed how often Wordpress has been downloaded recently...does Drupal have anything to worry about? Traditionally thought of as a blogging tool, the latest version of Wordpress has been sparking a lot of interest recently...
http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/04/wordpress-3-1-downloaded-15-million-times-in-under-5-months/
http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/04/wordpress-3-1-downloaded-15-million-times-in-under-5-months/
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