Google Vs Facebook - The War is Heating up

Many of us wouldn't have been around for this but some of us might be aware of the Full Page ad that Apple Placed in the Wall Street Journal back in 1981 (have a look here). Basically Apple were 'welcoming' IBM to the marketplace of personal computers stating they were looking forward to 'responsible competition', ending the ad 'Welcome to the Task'. 

Business execs could argue that this was a very clever tactile move by the Apple exec's, others believe the arrogance was too much - as soon after IBM indeed overtake Apple in the personal computer arena. Some might say that this was a tactile move by apple that allowed them to openly suggest they were going to be no.2 in the market and that was part of their strategy, lets remember Apple's personal computer business model would have been different to that of IBMs, i.e. Apple were selling the personal computer as a whole package, operating system and hardware. Similar to iphone iOS versus Android units today, iphones use there own operating system where as Android is open source and can be used on numerous mobile platforms. 

Whilst this isn't comparing like by like  i.e. Social Media today Vs Personal Computers in 1981, it is illustrating the reactions that a number one company (in a certain area) can have when someone moves closer into that space and while it is obvious that Google are not fully there and Google + is still in beta, this is definitely the biggest Facebook threat to date. Google have over 80% market share for search in most countries, on many occasions has been stated as a trusted brand and overall they have had some extremely successful products e.g. You Tube, Gmail, Android, and Chrome. Facebook on the other hand has been highly critiqued in the past for its privacy settings, something that Google + combats straight away with Google Circles, allowing users group who sees what immediately. 

I think there are many things that most of us in the industry are intrigued with at the moment, the first being; will this be the ultimate Facebook Killer or at least strong competition? what will Facebook do next? how will Google+ evolve? From looking at the internet reactions so far it is clear to see that many are excited that there could be a new big player in the Social Network sphere, what is even more notable is that this is the closest Google have come yet to direct Facebook competition. 

Let's not forget there was a lot of excitement around wave and buzz, unfortunately neither particularly lasted and we might as well admit that Wave was a complete flop. In my opinion Google will have to move fast and show users that this is a credible alternative to Facebook. Advantages include having your core internet experience under one umbrella i.e. Search and Social Networking, better privacy and last of all having a choice. 

So after all the comparisons how will Facebook react to Google +?, it was inevitable that Google were going to enter the Social Network sphere with a more direct competitive product so we can assume Facebook have a plan in place for this. The question is, will they display a reaction like Apple did in 1981 to IBM entering the PC Marketplace? Will they just simply carry on as they are and evolve their product according to their own R&D? Keep in mind google have some solid products that will integrate extremely well with Google + i.e. Gmail, You Tube, Mobile and Google Chat - many of these products and Googles new social model will bring out the weaknesses of Facebook i.e. poor 'chat' facilities, privacy, search and no email. Google and their products will offer a one stop shop and I believe after further integration and evolution Google+ will only get better. Follow me on twitter marickab@ , linkedin and www.marickamarketing.com.