If you're waiting for Google to take another run at creating a competitor to Facebook, don't hold your breath.
Executive chairman Eric Schmidt, talking to a small group of journalists following his address to the ad festival here, said.
"Our social strategy is to take our current products, get users to give us social information and make our current products better."
This strategy comes after the release of a few failed or struggling social products. The best-known of which may be Google Buzz, launched in Febuary 2010 to immediate privacy complaints and a general lack of interest. Since then, it has failed to grab traction with consumers. Google recently rolled out its +1 button, which allow users to recommend web pages they like via their Google Profile page.
Numerous Gmail users filed complaints about Google buzz's privacy violations, and it wasn't until March 31, 2011 that Google settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). As part of the settlement. Google is barred from "future privacy misrepresentations," and is required to participate in a comprehensive privacy program that includes "regular, independent privacy audits" for the next 20 years.
As an example of the current strategy, Mr. Schmidt talked about getting more information from YouTube users in order to offer more targeted video.
Google has taken a lot of criticism for its failures in the social space, where others, such as Facebook, Twitter, Zynga and the now publicly traded LinkedIn, have seen their valuations soar. Asked whether these valuations are indications of a tech bubble, Mr. Schmidt said it was too soon to tell.
He said.
"The numbers you're seeing are coming from a very small number of shares trading in vibrant market. It's not mathematically correct to say anything. You have to have more supply and momentum."
He continued.
"In the bubble 10 years ago, I decided to pay attention to what the major newspapers said. In the U.S., the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and The Economist have all announced this is a bubble. Having said that, this could go on for a while at current valuations. It's an interesting question, but not very important to answer."
Why has he decided to pay attention to the media's take on the bubble question?
"Because I didn't sell at the top 10 years ago."
Asked whether Google's stock has benefited from the bubble, he offered a no comment.
Mr. Schmidt otherwise offered a predictably bullish take on Google's immediate future, pointing to successes in display advertising -- which he sees a $10 million to $20 billion business down the road -- and in mobile, where Google's Android mobile operating system has overtaken Apple's as the most popular.
During a similarly wide-ranging discussion with Google Creative Lab's Andy Berndt in a packed auditorium earlier in the day, Mr. Schmidt talked about Google's Super Bowl ad, which, based on incremental search traffic, turned out to be a good investment. Mr. Schmidt was skeptical of the idea when it was presented to him because of Google's historical resistance to brand advertising. He said.
"Hell has frozen over."
But the ad worked. He said.
"It paid for itself. We turned a Super Bowl ad into an ROI phenomenon."
COMMENTARY: Eric's social media strategy is not a social media strategy. It is going to be quite challenging to convince Google's product users to provide "social information", without prying it out of them. You really need to have a social network site that allows users to create a network of friends and followers with similar interests and opinions, and fosters true engagement and word-of-mouth.
I am really disappointed that Eric has not been able to properly articulate Google's social media strategy. When someone does this, it can only mean that they don't understand what social media is, or purposely keeping things vague and close to the vest while they develop a social media platform. If I were Google, I would acquire Badoo, an up and comer that just entered the U.S. and is stilling users from Facebook.
Courtesy of an article dated June 22, 2011 appearing in Advertising Age
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