Blog
Social takes the fight to search
17-03-2010
by Ralph Averbuch
Facebook's growth puts social in the spotlight and search on notice.
It's interesting times in the world of 'social' media. That label's become synonymous with the likes of Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Yet, it seems slightly wrong-headed to suggest that all the services that came before these somehow lacked a social element. Even in the old days of bulletin boards on green screens, it was still about people interacting and communicating. Perhaps the reality is that the term 'social' describes an epoch in the development of the interwebs - it marks a point where we've achieved such saturation in our always-on lives that it truly has become an integral tool for keeping contact with our circle of friends. We use it to communicate our thoughts, ideas, pictures, likes, links... you name it. Increasingly that's on the move through our ever smarter phones. Many of us are simply listeners, whilst others can't stop chattering to anyone who'll listen. But one question going begging is where's Google? It's not as if Google didn't get its collective act on the case. Orkut, launched at the start of 2004, is Google's own social network but, other than Brazil and India, it's been a bit of a flop in terms of popularity. Meanwhile Facebook has managed to eclipse Google in the US. It was the most popular site for the week ending 13 March 2010, pushing the search engine into the No.2 spot. That's a big deal. Google's business model seemed pretty much unassailable until recently but this single statistic highlights that it's no longer a one-horse race for the web user's attention. Google has been expert at taking technology and making it accessible to the masses. In doing so it's made an awful lot of cash. But perhaps it missed the point about technology simply being the enabler to help people be.... more social.
Comments
Recent posts
Music sales get more social with Spotify
People make 140 letters priceless
Will Twitter ride the mobile wave?
Hope in the fight against censorship
Smartphones: the tipping point's coming
A malignant threat from our mobiles
Social takes the fight to search
Make room for the message
Apple's new court based tactics
Welcome back King Content
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 
Social takes the fight to search
Google is and feels like a computer. Especially for people who never get away from computers, there's a real hunger for our devices to become a way to plug into humanity. Google's disastrous approach to Buzz also left a lot of people feeling like the company is run by algorithms, not humans. I would not be surprised if they are in some serious PR think sessions at the moment try to figure out ways to convey a more personal image. But of course they need more than PR. They need to find a way to do social, but I don't know how they'll achieve this without freaking out their users even further about being owned by a company that feels increasingly machine-like.
Sheila Averbuch -- ENN
by Sheila Averbuch on 17 March 2010 at 22:57
Social takes the fight to search
Sheila,
I agree with your broad sentiment. I do think however, that the most significant aspect that's helped Facebook achieve this milestone is its decision to open up the site and member's information to 3rd parties via the public API. Facebook has essentially gone from a walled garden to a social data store where you can choose to use your information anywhere. And, because that information is social in nature, it's of much greater appeal to your immediate circle. Despite all its great tools, that's something that Google currently lacks. Other than Orkut, the next best 'social' thing it has is probably Picasa. But that's of narrower appeal.
Of course, lest we forget Google is the consummate online money-making machine and that's not something that Facebook can claim... yet. Is social the right place for delivering ad messages effectively?
Ralph
by Ralph on 18 March 2010 at 08:54