Since a week Google+ is running for those who are invited. And it is clear that it is making ripples anywhere. Rumors about a response to facebooks social media clout were in the air for a long time. And now Google+ has been presented. From most who have responded the first reaction is that it has potential. The second reaction is: do I have to take everything from facebook into Google+? Firstly, I see the potential too. Without getting into all the details of Google+,it is not a question if you will use it, it is a question of when you will start using it. The answer to the question is no, you will not have to move everyone from facebook to Google+. facebook exists in its own right for its own reasons. Just as MySpace does en Geocities did.Who is the biggest?
On a more important note Google+ is not only about attacking facebook in the social media arena. It is much bigger than that. I don't like war analogies and prefer to us other comaprisons in business settings, but Google+ is an all out act of war against, facebook, Apple, Microsoft and a whole lot of smaller niche players. Most people point to the large amount of users facebook has and how Google is trailing in that aspect. And how how facebook is Goliath in that aspect. But we can put those numbers into perspective. Google and Youtube (a part of Google) have just both reached more than 1 billion visitors. Next to that Google has a plethora of services in action and under development of which facebook can only dream. An example of this is the integration of Picasa into Google+ which makes it real easy to share pictures publicly as well as privately. Furthermore Google has Android in the mix, which makes mobile integration of social media and the mentioned services easy. So, who is the Goliath here?
Total World Domination
So, if we look at it carefully, Google+ is not only about social media. It is about total domination of the online universe as we know it. And not only in the consumer market, but also in the enterprise market. I think Google+ has a good chance of breaking the monopoly of Outlook as a productivity suite. And in my opinion Google has made a big headstart on its competitors with this step. Let the battle begin!
The Google+ 50
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