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« Semantic Web as the "killer app", Part 3 — A world wide web of friends »
Google & Microsoft in Facebook face-off
Friday, 28 September 2007 — by Wayne Smallman
Sometimes, good tech’ news and politically-driven technology trends just go and invent themselves. And who doesn’t like to read about the tit-for-tat tussle between Google and Microsoft?
So just try to imagine Google being rattled by Facebook:
“An ultra secret meeting that happened in Mountain View at Google’s headquarters. A select group of 15 of the heaviest industry hitters were invited.
How is Google going to take on Facebook? Open up even more than Facebook.”
To which I commented:
“Maybe that’s the reason why Facebook is a success – because everything is in one place.
And in recent news: Microsoft smell blood in the water and look to buy a chunk of Facebook…”
Which provides a neat segue. Now imagine Microsoft putting word about that they’re interested in buying a 5% stake in Facebook:
“CNBC just reported that Microsoft may take a 5% stake in Facebook at a cost of $300 million to $500 million: that would value the Social Network at up to $10 billion.”
When Social Networks collide
If you’re looking at this from Google’s perspective, Facebook has the bigger social footprint, when compared to their Orkut. And for Microsoft, it’s maybe a chance to wrong-foot Google and snatch an important player in the nascent Social Network market, seen from a business perspective:
“Spigit, a provider of social software for businesses, is launching a new product … that looks to make employees participation in social networks useful.
The idea is essentially that by making Social Networking a part of business, you can actually benefit your organization by fostering more interaction between employees.”
So there’s obviously a good, solid business angle to all of this Social Networking malarky.
As you can image, the prize for Microsoft is to interweave the Social Networking hooks & barbs of Facebook into their enterprise offerings.
I doubt Google are seeing things with such lofty ambitions in mind. After all, Google just don’t think like Microsoft.
But to Google, Facebook are a growing problem, in that not only do they represent a huge obstacle to any of their planned Social Networking ambitions, but they’re also derailing their Widgets efforts, too.
Just look at all of the applications for Facebook. This is where Google want to be.
In the end, it’s big business and even bigger money versus long-term subtle strategies delivered on a human scale.
And for Facebook, it’s a question of who to run from and then who to run to…
Recommended reading
- Google to Facebook: We’re Gunning For You
- Report: Microsoft Considers Buying 5% of Facebook
- Spigit Launches Social Networking for Organizations
« Semantic Web as the "killer app", Part 3 — A world wide web of friends »
[...] when Google went toe-to-toe with Microsoft over Facebook, Google blinked first. And with respect to Facebook, Google had much more to gain than Microsoft [...]