It's those Google guys again: CEO Eric Schmidt, co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin doing their best to "do no evil"
"By this point everyone and their mother knows that Google is trying to create a Facebook-type social networking service," writes TechCrunch. "It's been confirmed by Quora's Adam D' Angelo, given an ETA by a source internal to Google, and a name, 'Google Me' by [Digg.com founder] Kevin Rose."
As Search Engine Land points out, "There were reports two weeks ago that Google has invested $100 million-plus in Zynga, makers of the uber-popular Farmville game." According to The Journal, game developers -- including Playdom, Electronic Arts' Playfish, and Zynga -- could serve to flesh out a new service Google is already building.
Rather than face Facebook head on, "Google seems to have settled on a strategy to assemble the pieces of a social offering," Daily Finance suggests. "Google Music is another big one on the horizon -- hoping it can string them together later. Google already has powerful email, IM, and Web-based sharing products. If it can build up its entertainment offerings, it may be able to piece together a challenge to Facebook."
Asked about Facebook, Google head Eric Schmidt tells The Journal: "The world doesn't need a copy of the same thing."
"Duh," counters Social Beat. "Of course, Google will have to differentiate what it does, and it will likely do so by recruiting people for its social network through every Google property, from search to Gmail."
While still unconfirmed, The Journal explains, "Google's push into social games represents the latest attempt by the Web-search leader to capture users and advertising dollars that are increasingly flowing to social networking, an area dominated by Facebook, Twitter Inc. and others." As ZDNet notes: "Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have the one thing that advertisers love most -- eyeballs."
COMMENTARY: I just posted a RIM BlackBerry Bold 9800 rumor, so let's do another. Don't you just like rumor posts?
Seriously, Google has this grand strategy of becoming everything. They re into smartphones, alternative energy, mobile ad networks, browsers, venture capital, mapping, digitized books, desktop apps, patent searches, etc. When will this mashup end?
Larry and Sergey have started this Google culture, that allows all their engineers to "moonlight" and seek new lifeforms, "where no man has gone before".
That is innovative thinking and entrepreneurial, bit highly disorganized. There is no central mission. At least Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has a grand plan. It's called the "digital hub" and he has executed it masterfully. Anything tied into digital media, communications and entertainment is fair game and the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iMac, itunes, Apple Store, apps, prove he has a grand plan.
Meanwhile over at Facebook, Zuck has received another subpoena from somebody claiming he cheated them. 500 million members and growing. Folks, the social networking wars is over, and Facebook won.
Courtesy of an article dated July 28, 2010 appearing in MediaPost Publications Around The Net
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