09.01.09
Jamie
Facebook Vs Google
The rapid rise of Facebook cannot be ignored and reminds me of the speed at which Google rose to prominence a few years ago. At face value, the offerings of both companies seem different (search engine vs social application) but they essentially comprise of many similar elements; personal user data, email, IM, advertising revenue, social applications and search functionality.
The next couple of years will be interesting and my feeling is that Facebook will keep up their rapid development and growth. They will continue to integrate new features and will provide Google with serious competition.
Web searching
Facebook’s integration of Microsoft Live Search will, I believe, provide some serious competition to Google search. It may even become many users default search engine this year. This probably won’t have anything to do with search algorithms, the user will simply find Facebook web search more convenient than opening another browser tab/window to search Google. I’m sure Facebook will also improve their current search offering to include more impressive functionality and personalised suggestions/preferences.
Personal data and advertising
Google has for some time now had access to a huge amount personal user data. This has enabled them to provide personalised results and advertisements. Facebook has access to a greater depth of member/user information, which may enable them to target users more effectively and increase their advertising revenue. I’m sure they will develop this further and find more interesting and effective ways to target their members. Thinking about what they know can actually become quite scary… they know our address, our telephone numbers, our education, our family members, our employment history, our likes and dislikes, they know more about me than my best friend of 20 years!
Single Login
Google and Facebook both provide platforms which enable users to login to third-party applications using their Google or Facebook credentials. Both systems, Facebook Connect and Google Friend Connect, allow the third party applications to connect and access personal user information with the major difference being that Google also allows a user to login using Yahoo, AIM or OpenID credentials. These combined give Google a wider user base but I don’t think this will guarantee success. In fact, my guess is that most users with Gmail, Yahoo, and OpenID accounts also have a Facebook account, which contains far more personal and contact information, thus making it more likely for them to use when signing in to third party applications.
I’ll leave you to digest some recent Facebook statistics:
- More than 150 million active users
- More than half of Facebook users are outside of college
- The fastest growing demographic is those 25 years old and older
10.01.09
NICCAI
Good question, but I’m going to have to side with Google. Facebook is already actively combating the clutter, and everyday I fear more and more it is the Hotmail of yester year. Don’t get me wrong, FB is going to grow huge, and its notion of the circle of friends is a compelling anti-spam feature. That said, how many people are really not your friends? How will it continue to scale? How will it branch out? Google is merely the hub of a much bigger wheel. Can facebook take this over? And, god forbid, what happens when being connected becomes uncool? When the hipsters decide you need to see me to know me? I think the real question is Microsoft vs. Facebook (or Microsoft Office rather). I think Microsoft saw this very early on and had no problem sinking the money in that they did.
18.01.09
Matt
I have to say that I can see a time when Facebook becomes the home page of many people who currently may have Google set as the default. I already use Facebook to “email” friends and family, especially the ones that never seem to be off it!
Regarding personal data and advertising, I wish they would start actually using my data to offer me more targeted ads. I mean, for example, it’s not difficult to take from my marital status that I really am not interested in “singles in my area”.
With the single log-in, you have to take into consideration the familiarity and convenience of using Facebook Connect, or, put another way, the lack of geekyness required. I would imagine that a large majority of FB users don’t even know nor care what OpenID is, and also only associate Google with searching the web. Offered the choice I think these people will click on a nice recognisable “Connect with Facebook” button.