Whilst Google+ is still only in beta stage, it is also one of the most hyped products of today – preparing to compete with the market leading Facebook. But is it likely Google will succeed in convincing hundreds of millions of people who are already using Facebook to migrate to Google+? Or the 100 million who are already using LinkedIn?

1. Discussion Paper
Does the World really need Google+?
Will Google+ be a Facebook killer?
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2. Does the World really need Google+?
Google+
The hype Whilst Google+ is still only in beta stage, it is also one of the most hyped
products of today – preparing to compete with the market leading
Facebook.
But is it likely Google will succeed in convincing hundreds of millions of
people who are already using Facebook to migrate to Google+? Or the
100 million who are already using LinkedIn?
Some have already criticized Google+ for being a “reactive” product,
simply copying Facebook with some tweaks and it is obviously Facebook
Google is preparing to compete against, not LinkedIn.
Feature Comparison
Let’s first do a quick comparison of the key features offered by the
combatants
Key features
“Profile” “Profile” “Profile”
Information about yourself Identical to Google+ Similar, but with a more
that you want to share business / CV approach
“People” “Friends” “Connections”
Your relations, which can Similar to the function in The naming says it all,
be divided into friends, Google+ you manage connections,
family, etc. not friends in LinkedIn
“Streams” “News” “Updates”
Newsfeed, sharing photos, Identical to Google+ More simple function
etc. with your relations and not widely used
+1 “Like” “Like”
Feature to indicate what Broadly comparable to More simple function
you like Google+ and not widely used
“Hangout” Currently not a feature in Currently not a feature in
Facebook LinkedIn,
Group video chat.
Competes with Skype
“Circles” Currently not a feature in Contacts can be tagged,
Facebook but it is not as advanced
A feature to group contacts as Google+
and control what is shared
with who
App for iPhone and App for iPhone and App for iPhone and
Android Android Android
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3. Does the World really need Google+?
Anything new?
So if Google thinks it has reinvented social networking with Google+, I
disagree, as a networking tool to share information about yourself and
follow what your relations are doing, Google+ or Facebook is the same
thing – while LinkedIn is clearly more focused on business relations.
Google Circles However, there is one feature where Google+ stands out – Google
Circles.
Google have nailed it when they realized that Facebook’s weakness was
privacy.
A new approach to sharing
A new way of sharing Therefore content control is centric to Google’s approach, and one that
much more closely reflects everyday life. After all, you really don’t want
to share the same pictures with your boss as you do with say your
drinking buddies, do you?
Google+ is based on the Google Circles feature, which lets you share and
view content to and from explicitly identified groups of your contacts,
and no one else. You can divide your relations into e.g. friends,
colleagues, family, neighbors or whatever makes sense for you – and
select to share each post or picture with the exact groups (Circles) you
want to.
Now that’s a new approach, compared to that of Facebook where you
share everything with all your relations.
Combining Facebook and To use myself as an example, today I use LinkedIn for professional
LinkedIn? connections and only Facebook for a limited set of private friends
because what I share on Facebook is not always stuff I would want
business relations to see.
Could Google Circles be the tool that allows me to use the same tool for
both?
However, shouldn’t we expect that Facebook is already working on a
similar feature? After all, it’s not a difficult thing to implement.
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4. Does the World really need Google+?
Google is in an uphill battle
The undisputed situation is that Google are in a very bad position: Their
tool is not really bringing new features that could not easily be copied by
The value lies in the users,
not the tool
Facebook – and at the same time Facebook already has an impressive 750
million users.
At the end of the day, the value of a social networking tool lies in the
people using it and the information they share – the tool itself only plays
a small role.
So does that mean Google+ is going to be only a short parenthesis in the
big book of social networks? I think that is too early to say, in the near
term, many contented Facebook users will see no need for Google+, but
over time selected features could possibly attract users: Hangout, Huddle,
and Instant Upload.
A religious battle? Or this could be a religious battle between Google-lovers and Facebook-
lovers, as has been seen before between PC’s vs. Apple, iPhone vs.
Android, or even VHS vs. Betamax for those of us who are old enough to
remember.
In all these cases it’s safe to say the battle is not always won based on
best functionality, but on branding, creating hype, establish a group of
true believers and getting to a critical mass.
The verdict
The key to success In other words, the success of Google+ will depend on one thing only –
how many relations you have and what interactions you make with those
relations.
If your friends all leave Facebook for Google+, so will you. But is it
likely Google+ will attract sufficient critical mass before the hype
diminishes?
Only time will show.
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5. Does the World really need Google+?
Facts
A social networking service operated by Google Inc. The service
launched on June 28, 2011 in an invite-only "field testing" phase.
Google+ integrates social services such as Google Profiles and Google
Buzz, and introduces new services Circles, Hangouts, Sparks, and
Huddles.
Google+ will also be available as a desktop application and as a mobile
application, but only on the Android and iOS operating systems.
Sources such as The New York Times have declared it Google's biggest
attempt to rival the social network Facebook, which had over 750 million
users in 2011
Source: Wikipedia
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in
February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc.
As of July 2011[update], Facebook has more than 750 million active
users
Source: Wikipedia and facebook.com/press
LinkedIn is a business-related social networking site.
Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used
for professional networking.
As of 22 March 2011, LinkedIn reports more than 100 million registered
users
Source: Wikipedia
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6. Does the World really need Google+?
About the author
CEO of shipIT The author of this white paper is Kim R. Ahler
Kim has for +20 years been delivering and
implementing IT across the shipping industry.
He has solid experience as Program manager /
Project Executive / Project manager for some of the
largest IT implementation projects in Denmark and
the global shipping industry.
Today he is the CEO of shipIT
About shipIT
shipIT is an independent consulting company, who is dedicated to assist the
shipping industry obtaining maximum benefit from IT investments.
All shipIT consultants are experienced in the combination of shipping business
and IT.
Contact information For further information, please contact:
shipIT
Borupvang 2B
DK- 2750 Ballerup
Phone:+45 70 20 78 20
Mail: shipIT@shipIT.dk
Or visit our website at:
www.shipIT.dk
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