Facebook Messages Ups the Ante in Rivalry with Google
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6. The world is social
Google is a top online destination. But the company's services
are utilities that folks use to make their lives a little bit easier. Facebook
is slightly different. It's a place where people communicate and entertain
themselves away from their offline lives. That has obviously caught on. And
going forward, the social craze doesn't seem to be slowing down. That could
play into Facebook's favor-and against Google.
7. The possibilities are endless
Let's face it: Facebook's
potential is endless. With so many active users, it's possible that
Facebook can enter into several different markets, including mapping, document
creation and many others, and be successful. Of course, that doesn't mean that
it will, but it's always a possibility. And as the company's messaging platform
shows, Facebook is willing to redefine markets where it believes it has a
chance at being successful.
8. Privacy
The big issue with Google and Facebook continues to be how
they handle user privacy. As Google's recent issues with its Buzz social
network and Street View mapping service show, the company has trouble to that
end. But so does Facebook. Many of its missteps have been related to privacy in
some way. But with the social network's new messaging platform, users will be
able to choose who can contact them and who cannot. Plus, the platform won't
examine information in messages to target ads at users. It's a step in the
right direction. Furthermore, it could give Facebook the privacy upper hand
over Google going forward.
9.
Facebook is becoming more Google-like
Facebook
has implemented search into its offering; it now has
a quasi Gmail competitor; and it's a key player in Web advertising. Google
has tried its luck with social networking with Buzz, and it hasn't worked out
so well. The reason why is simple: Trying to get the vast majority of Web users
to a single service to communicate is really hard. Matching an entrenched
competitor is extremely difficult. That's a challenge that Facebook continues
to face as it attempts to steal ad market share from Google, but it's easy to
see that Facebook is having more success at becoming Google-like than Google is
at becoming Facebook-like.
10. The virtual world
Although most people may not think of this when they compare
Facebook and Google, the impact that virtual goods can have on the future of
both companies is significant. Virtual goods revenue is on the rise, with the
possibility of people spending $14 billion in 2014. Facebook is home to some of
the top games in the world, thanks to Zynga, and the company has the ability to
capitalize quite effectively on that. But Google isn't positioned as
effectively. That can very easily change going forward, but given how much
money is at stake in the virtual goods market, Facebook's positioning should
worry Google.
