I think it’s safe to say that this social media bout has officially become heated.
After speculating about Google+ for months, we’ve seen it, and even though it isn’t completely available, yet, the response has been favorable. Success or failure, Google’s move onto the social media scene has forced Facebook to improve. Zuckerburg and friends can no longer sit around and be a slothful giant that it has become.
For the first time in a long while, Facebook is forced to compete.
Google pulled-out all the stops and dropped-in just about every property they have. From Picasa to Android, YouTube to Gmail, Google’s tight web of successful and heavily used tools have spun a net that will be difficult for Facebook to break users from.
Facebook’s response?
Skype and Civ World.
Although there was marriage talks between Skype and Facebook in the past, I find it interesting the follow-through occurred after Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype. Facebook and Microsoft? That just seems weird.
One of the “wow” factors brought to Google+ was the video chat. Just a week later, Facebook has video chat. Social media competition hasn’t been this good since before MySpace was sold the first time.
As for the Civ World announcement, Google hasn’t shown any movements toward social gaming. In contrast, Facebook has built much of its recent wave of users on social network gaming. It hasn’t been taken seriously by gamers at all, as the Facebook games draw on the casual gamer. The recent news of Sid Meier’s Civilization game coming to Facebook was another well-played move. For the first time, a legit and legendary game hits Facebook, grabbing the attention of both casual and core gamers alike.
I think Facebook has been sitting on these, waiting for Google+. If so, I want to know what they’re going to do in two or three weeks from now? Will Google counter attack?
Honestly, it’s far too early to see who’s going to come out on top in the end. This is going to be a calculated chess game between these online giants.
Will ‘Facebook vs. Google+’ be the next ‘PC vs. Mac’?
Either way, I think it’s the social media users that will end-up winning.
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