Google Me vs Facebook: Who will win?

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Facebook has long been the dominating force when it comes to social networks. Even with the likes of Twitter and LinkedIn, Mark Zuckerberg and his team have felt pretty safe with the crown.

However, now arguably the world’s biggest internet player, Google, is rumoured to be working on its own social network – dubbed Google Me – and with its acquisition today of Slide, these rumours look to be turning more into a reality.

So what will Google have over Facebook if this launch becomes reality? Or is the strength of Facebook too much for the search giant to take on?

We take a look at how the companies compete when it comes to social networking nous and if this could benefit your business.

How could Google take number one spot?

One search to rule them all…

Google is undoubtedly the king of search, despite the best efforts from the likes of Microsoft and Yahoo, but search is increasingly becoming a useful tool in social networking.

Twitter is renowned for its trending topics and now Facebook has jumped into the game with its Questions offering.

If search continues to grow and ends up playing a large part in this area of the web, Google is more than ready to exploit this aspect.

Email within the network

If convergence is the way the IT industry is heading, and with one Facebook employee suggesting the death of email is nigh, integration of clients into social networks seems a likely way forward.

Google surely has the upper hand here. Gmail may not be the market leader in the email client segment, but it undoubtedly has greater functionality than the Facebook messages service.

Having said this, Gmail could do with making itself a little more attractive and user friendly. Let’s not forget social networks are meant to have an element of fun and the straight-cut look of Google’s service does not have the right jovial aesthetic nailed just yet.

Nonetheless, it would be handy to have all your messages in the same place as profile postings, group updates, silly pictures et al.

Documents all come together

It is not just email integration with Gmail that will be so handy, especially when it comes to businesses.

Google Me could include integration to the likes of Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Sites and Google Groups; well established business tools when stood alone but perhaps all the more useful when linked into a social network.

Facebook doesn’t have anything to compete with this on a business level so could be left out in the cold by companies looking to extend their social media reach.

Privacy

If there is one area a burgeoning social network can be confident in trumping Facebook it is surely privacy. The intense scrutiny Zuckerberg’s baby has been under in recent months is enough to convince anyone planning such a site to place user data protection at the top of their priorities.

Google would do well to make privacy settings flexible and simple to understand from the off and while Facebook has been working on this in earnest, there is still plenty of ground for improvement.

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