Google+ just won’t go away.
In fact, I would venture to say that it’s here to stay, as Google continues to connect all their services into Google+. Even Google Search is connected to it!
Is Google+ finally finding its stride?
Is Google+ more engaging, now? Yes!
Is it enjoyable for those that are active users? Yes!
But does it have what it takes to overtake Facebook for the #1 social network?
[via Sticky Comics]
Dustin W. Stout says
Undoubtedly. With impending YouTube integration and the momentum of new features (and rumored official user stats looming)… it’s only a matter of time. 😀
Kevin Lawry says
You’re right – Google’s dominance in the search realm has spun off into lots of other areas. For example: web browsers (Chrome), mobile device software (Android), hardware (Nexus, Chromebook, Chromecast), GPS / navigation (Maps), email (Gmail), entertainment (YouTube), website tracking (Analytics)… the list goes on and on.
It’s funny – people used to think of Microsoft as “an evil corporate giant bent on world domination” just because Internet Explorer came preinstalled with Windows. It seems like Google has its fingers in many more pies than Microsoft ever did. I don’t hear a lot of people complaining about Google’s dominance and increasing intrusion into our lives.
Social networking is a big deal for businesses and personal lives. It’s only natural for Google to try to dominate that industry too. If anybody has a shot at dethroning Facebook, it is Google.
So as a church website development company, what has my company done about Google? We’ve embraced as many of Google’s web technologies as possible. My company’s church website builder is even integrated with Google Plus so that church members can participate on their church’s website with their existing Google+ account. The platform also ties in Google Analytics, Webmaster Tools, G+ social media sharing, and sitemap submission to Google’s search engine.
As you pointed out, Google Plus is becoming a big factor in search engine rankings. Since they own the #1 search engine, G+ is increasingly important to churches and businesses. So my conclusion is this: “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” Every church should set up their organization’s G+ page and start attracting followers. It’s the future of the Internet, like it or not.
Eric Dye says
I would also be sure to add this to your statement: It’s the short-term future of the Internet.
Kevin at SiteWizard LLC says
Hi Eric – Why would you add “short-term”? I think as long as Google dominates the search engine industry, they will continue to do well in all of these other areas, including social networking.
Facebook is still the #1 social network, but a lot of people (including me) are dissatisfied with Facebook and their bad privacy practices. There is an opportunity in the market. Some experts predict that Google Plus will be the #1 social network by 2016.
When Google entered the search engine market, they were late to the game. There was already Yahoo, MSN/Live, Infoseek, Hotbot, Lycos, etc. They stepped in and crushed the competition, taking about 80% of the market share. Other companies have tried to fight back (Microsoft) but have been largely unsuccessful.
Multiple times, Google has shown that they can upset and take over a market. Many of their offerings have displaced a market leader, or at least taken a big chunk out of the market share (Maps, Gmail, Chrome, Docs, Drive, etc). Latest numbers even show that Android devices outnumber iOS devices.
All that being said, I am not a huge Google fan. I feel like all of their products are collecting data about me – my emails, my web browsing history, etc. “Personalization” usually involves monitoring and tracking. But frankly, I would rather get tracked by one company with a lot of services than by a bunch of other companies with individual services.
I wouldn’t bet against Google Plus continuing to grow market share in the social networking space. I think this is especially true since G+ has recently been deeply tied to search engine rankings. http://moz.com/blog/google-plus-correlations. I’m personally going to make the switch to G+ soon. http://www.maketheswitch.me/ Maybe I’ll see you there. 🙂
Eric Dye says
Short term is relative, I suppose. Let’s not forget how huge Yahoo! and AOL were at one time; nor should we underestimate the general Internet citizenry of allowing Google to monopolize the web. 🙂
Kevin at SiteWizard LLC says
Hi Eric – I agree to a point. There may be a day when Google doesn’t monopolize the web. But that may be due to changes in how the web works. For example, HTML and web browsers may become obsolete in favor of content protocols which allow tight integration with devices.
My Kindle Fire HD has its own content search mechanism that searches my tablet, my online cloud storage, Amazon’s digital content for sale, and the Internet. I don’t need to open a browser to search. Multiple types of content (music, movies, books, articles) and multiple sources of content (device, ecommerce, web) are seamlessly combined. The same kind of interface is being added to smart TV’s. I think “content aggregation” interfaces may become the norm.
The idea is that content is produced in a standardized way, then devices decide how to organize and display it. The web would be simplified into two categories: content producers and content consumers. Webmasters / bloggers become the content producers. Devices (computers, tablets, phones, TVs) become the content consumers.
A good example is RSS. I use an RSS reader (Feedly) to grab the latest articles from dozens of websites (including ChurchMag). It combines content from multiple blogs into a single easy-to-use interface. I can view my subscribed content on my desktop, tablet or phone and it will be formatted correctly for each device. It saves me from opening a browser and clicking on bookmarks for 30 different blogs.
I that know RSS has been around for 10+ years, but modern devices are making this type of content syndication more relevant. I think we may see more standardized content delivery and consumption slowly replacing HTML in the future.
Nobody (except God) knows what technology will look like in 10 or 20 years. But even if “the web” moves away from HTML, Google’s search engine will likely be the leader, performing content indexing and searching. Plus they’ve diversified their product offerings enough that a loss in one area won’t put them out of business. Thus Google and G+ are here to stay for the foreseeable future. Just my two cents. 🙂