Sunday
Apr252010
Google Is Going To Lose This Social "War" Due To Perception
Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 4:24AM
I love Google, with all my heart, but in my heart of hearts, I know they will lose the social war.
While there are many little reasons as to why Google is going to lose, the main one is perception.
Facebook and Twitter are perceived as social companies. People know that they are about making connections, whether they be private or public, and that is 99% of their focus.
What do people think of when they think of Google. I asked many of my high school peers (31, to be exact) and the basic consensus was that Google, "finds stuff". When I asked my peers what do they think of when they think of Facebook, all of them said something along the lines of, "I talk to/connect with my friends". Then I asked if they would move social networks if Google had a better social network than Facebook currently has. Only two said yes, the others?
"Google just finds stuff, so what is the point of that question?".
Ouch.
Now, I am not stupid. I know that asking 31 people is a small, nearly worthless, sample size. But I do strongly believe that this is the perception amongst many people my age and younger. Hell, when people take pictures with me on my camera, I often times hear, "Facebook/Tag it".
Google, if it wants to be perceived as a social company, has a lot of work to do in the perception, as well as product offerings (sorry, Buzz is not even close to competing with Facebook), arena.
Of course, the perception of these companies goes both ways. Facebook isn't going to dominate "finding stuff" any time soon. Google owns that.
While there are many little reasons as to why Google is going to lose, the main one is perception.
Facebook and Twitter are perceived as social companies. People know that they are about making connections, whether they be private or public, and that is 99% of their focus.
What do people think of when they think of Google. I asked many of my high school peers (31, to be exact) and the basic consensus was that Google, "finds stuff". When I asked my peers what do they think of when they think of Facebook, all of them said something along the lines of, "I talk to/connect with my friends". Then I asked if they would move social networks if Google had a better social network than Facebook currently has. Only two said yes, the others?
"Google just finds stuff, so what is the point of that question?".
Ouch.
Now, I am not stupid. I know that asking 31 people is a small, nearly worthless, sample size. But I do strongly believe that this is the perception amongst many people my age and younger. Hell, when people take pictures with me on my camera, I often times hear, "Facebook/Tag it".
Google, if it wants to be perceived as a social company, has a lot of work to do in the perception, as well as product offerings (sorry, Buzz is not even close to competing with Facebook), arena.
Of course, the perception of these companies goes both ways. Facebook isn't going to dominate "finding stuff" any time soon. Google owns that.
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