Category Archives: Google+

We, not Facebook, will Prevail

Posted on by
Reply

The first stage of worry for a big company in a very modern world is when someone says something like “Facebook IS social media” or “Google IS the Internet”.  At that point you’ve become so big that you risk becoming irrelevant.  A century ago becoming irrelevant took a while.  Today it’s measured in months, perhaps a couple years.

In the late 90s the browser wars started.  Netscape was the king but was soon dethroned. While browsers are important, and people can be quite passionate about their choices, it doesn’t change what they do: provide access to the Internet.  By and large they all do the same job today and we are not restricted to using just one.  In fact many have several of them installed at the same time and will use them alternatively.

And so it will be with social. We’re all “going social” at a fantastic rate and there is no going back.  We’ve tasted the fruits and a world that is not connected and sharing is no longer something we can imagine being part of.  It’s inconceivable. When Google+ launched I wrote a review and said there is simply no room for two dominant social platforms and at some point there will have to be a merging of all these platforms where one can interact with another.

That’s how I see the future of social – we will use the platforms of our choice – Facebook, Google+, Twitter or one of a thousand that will hatch in the next few years but each will have the ability to interact with the other.  Not doing so would be a violation of the very foundation of “being social”.

One of the joys of social is being liberated from borders, rules and boundaries (at least that’s the apparency).  How long before we will no longer tolerate being bound by the walls of Facebook?  Not too long I think.

The social media tribe which will consist of 5 billion people by 2020 will outlive Facebook, Google and all other pretenders.

Google is NOT the Internet and Facebook is NOT social media.  We are. Always have been. Always will be.

 

Google+ in South Africa: Who will build it? Brands or Consumers?

Posted on by
1

From the look of things the South African landscape on Google+ is still more tumbleweeds than anything else.

Brand pages on Google+ are gaining traction in the USA and elsewhere but South Africa doesn’t seem to have taken to it, yet. Traditional social tracking websites like SocialBakers don’t even list SA stats.

I did some quick, not very scientific, analyses of South African brands on Google+ and it’s pretty sorry.  On the plus side there are  a high number of Brand Pages but they’re all struggling along with little following and engagement.  I couldn’t find a brand page that had more than 271 followers (SA Tourism).

Interestingly the big name brands that are successful on Twitter and Facebook like Woolworths, Huisgenoot, Vodacom and Springleap have very little going on on Google+ with each having less than 100 followers (perhaps the better phrasing is they have been circled by less than 100).

The same goes for individuals that have a high profile on other social networks like Gareth Cliff and DJ Euphonik.

In July last year I wrote a review on Google+ and asked the question: Is the social web big enough for Facebook AND Google+.  The above tells me that,  in South Africa at this time, it is not.

The South African Facebook population is just touching 5 million.  This number represents 91% of online South Africans.  This high penetration rate will continue as more of our people get online (which they most certainly will).  Facebook is by far the king of social networks here. We all know someone that said they have no interest in Facebook and they will never use it.  Now they’re updating statuses with the best of them.  Through shear weight of time and pressure the platform has an unshakable hold.

The question for the average user then is “what will I get from Google+ that I’m not getting on Facebook?”.  The answer right now is nothing.

This is not to say that Google+ is no good.  Quite the contrary, I believe there are fantastic opportunities for individuals and brands to have deeper and more meaningful engagement with innovations like Hangout.  But this is all for naught if noone is there.

However, with the backing of the Google monolith and the importance that Google+ will play in search the platform will grow and become more and more important.  But it’s going to take time and plenty of it. Just yesterday Google announced that searches on Google will include results from your circles on Google+.  No doubt this will become more and more important and may be the trigger to get more people using it.  Chicken or the egg? Will brands bring the consumers or will the consumers bring the brands? From a brand perspective it wouldn’t be a bad idea to be there when the hoards arrive.

Are you on Google+? What would make you sign up or use it more?

Our Heads are in the Cloud

Posted on by
Reply

The Cloud.

It’s been talked about for sometime and it’s here. Not dissimilar to “The Grid” (think Tron) but unfortunately far less 3D stimulating (for now).

When I first read of the concept somewhere around 2008 I thought it was a ridiculous premise given the cost and state of broadband in South Africa and I gave it little thought after that.

But like all grand concepts its takes over through a gradual erosion of fixed ideas.  Just like online purchasing; just like social media.

This all came home to me in the last week.  I will soon be purchasing the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 inch tablet.  Its a beautiful device but I was more than a little miffed that it does not include an SD slot to extend the on board storage of 32 gigs. Will that be enough?

And then came the epiphany: Local (i.e. on your device) storage is becoming less important because we’re already in the cloud:  Just about every picture I take goes to Facebook, Twitter and now Google+; every email I send and receive goes through and lives in the cloud; every blog I write is written and resident on the cloud; my notes, calendars, contacts and even documents are synchronized on every device through the cloud.

Why have it stored locally?  It just doesn’t make sense anymore. Although still not to standard our broadband speeds are rising and costs falling so even that last cloud barrier of video and music will soon disappear.  Within 36 months our lives will be firmly stored in the cloud and the majority of us will be none the wiser.  Even today, most don’t consciously realise that their use of Facebook and Gmail means they’re firmly up in the clouds.

So 32 gigs will be plenty, thank you.

Now, if only Telkom will get back to me about installing my free broadband.

How much of your life is already clouded?

Google+ Circles a Powerful Tool for Business Collaboration

Posted on by

I have been very interested in restricted social media platforms that provide a way for a business to be social among its employees. Both Yammer and Podio are platforms that are used and do the job very well.

But I’ve been bothered by the fact that it necessitates being involved in two ecosystems. On the one hand this seems right; the perfect way to keep business and personal separate. In theory you log on to Facebook at home and Yammer at work.

Enter Google+. The perfect platform to do it all.  By simply creating a company you can collaborate and communicate internally.  Of course your business has to be smart enough to have a policy covering how this will all work.

Google has worked very hard to be omnipresent on the web and they’ve succeeded in this with just about everything Social.  Google Docs: Check.  Google Blogs: Check. Google Pictures (Picasa): Check. Search: Check.  Video: Check. And now – Social: Check.

Combine all of these into one social platform and, wow: An extremely powerful platform for communication and collaboration within a business.

The only real concern is catering for “finger problems” i.e. posting to the wrong circle.

But still the possibilities are wonderful and I’ll certainly include this in company social media planning going forward.

Do you think this would work?

Is the Social Web big enough for Facebook and Google+?

Posted on by
Reply

I got my invitation to Google’s latest effort to take on the world of Social Media, Google+

I always love trying out new things, it’s like getting a new toy that is so full of promise and something you feel might just be everything you hope.

I love Google+.

It’s most talked about feature is “circles”.  Using circles makes it a cinch to put friends into groups – family, colleagues, friends, whatever.  People can be in multiple circles.  And controlling which people see your posts is really easy.  It is a great feature and one that trumps Facebook.  Facebook’s managing of lists has always been clumsy with far too much effort.  So Google+ scores big with that one.

A feature of circles I love is the ability to quickly and easily see only feeds from selected circles.  If you don’t want to see everyones updates simply select the circle you want to see. A great way to keep the newsfeed (sorry, stream) clean.

Other new features:

Sparks:  Following topics of interest is a breeze.  Simply search for a topic that interests you and then add it to your Sparks and you’re now following that topic.

Hangout:  Start a group video chat with up to 10 friends.  Hangouts can also be used to watch a YouTube video as a group.

Many other features are very similar to Facebook – adding links, video and pictures to post is easy.  And of course the “like” button is now the “+1′ button.

The look and feel is clean and minimalistic as is Google’s wont.  In all other respects it’s like a new look Facebook and does many things that Facebook has pioneered.

So it looks good, feels good and will probably do the job.  But the questions is:  Will people sign up?  Coming up against Facebook with its 665 million users is not easy.

Why change?  Anyone with an established community on Facebook will need a very good reason to change.  Is the social web big enough for two massive social media platforms?

But perhaps this is the reason:  Google has a huge advantage over Facebook with its existing services.  Last year Facebook introduced a mail system that hasn’t really gone anywhere.  Google already has a firmly established mail system in Gmail.  On top of that there’s Picassa for photos, YouTube for videos and the ability to fully integrate the “+1″ feature into its search.

Interestingly Google+ just received an endorsement from the co-founder of MySpace, Tom Anderson.

Because of Google’s many excellent existing products I believe strongly that Google+ will gain traction.  I further predict that an interconnectivity between Facebook and Google+ will be inevitable.  This will be a case of “mutually assured survival” as the world is not big enough to have two giant social media platforms in isolation.  To draw a poor analogy, you can’t have two massive cell phone networks that don’t allow you to call the others network.

I imagine there are going to be a few tense meetings at Facebook’s Palo Alto offices.