I founded omnes.tv, host the Device Drivers show and produce/engineer the Unsigned show. With the little time I have remaining I delve deep into tech topics and publish my findings here on TenFingerCrunch.
Google has been gunning to compete with Facebook on the social-front, and their most recent attempt, Google+, appears to be their best effort so far. With over 40 million users to date, Google+ has been able to amass a large following in a short amount of time. Their recent launch of Google+ Pages—their version of Facebook for Business—is just another addition to their bag of social tricks.
Problem is, Facebook is approaching 1 billion users, 25-times that of Google+. To continue to grow their users, Google has taken a page from Facebook and has reached out to college students. From BGR:
As a new semester got underway at Ben Gurion University and Tel Aviv University in Israel, students were greeted by an unexpected surprise: a series of booths that served as recruiting stations for Google+. The manned booths offered passers-by a free gift bag packed with goodies if they were willing to sign up for the new social network on the spot, Ynet recently reported. Google’s hired hands helped users create their profiles on the spot, even offering to take playful profile pictures for the university students, which were also printed on stickers and given away for free.
This approach seems very similar to how Google Wallet has been marketed recently, and screams of desperation. As a Google+ user myself, I can think of many different aspects of the service that could convince new users to join, but giving out gift bags is not one of them. I wonder how many fake profiles are being created on campus just so the students can get the free goodies.
For all those organizations wanting to launch their business presence on Google+, your wait is almost over. Google today announced Pages for Google+, their answer to Facebook for Business. The new feature is only available to select organizations, but soon it will be open to all. From Google’s Pages announcement:
So far Google+ has focused on connecting people with other people. But we want to make sure you can build relationships with all the things you care about—from local businesses to global brands—so today we’re rolling out Google+ Pages worldwide.
There is a list of 20 example Pages—like The Muppets, Pepsi and Save the Children—available now on the announcement page. They also have a video demoing the new feature, which is embedded below for your convenience.
Google has announced the availability of the Google+ API, allowing the integration of Google+ elements into your website or app. If you have been waiting on the official API to create Google+ enhanced products/services, well that wait is over.
You may have seen the AT&T commercials lately advertising the new HTC Status, the first phone with a Facebook share button. Yes, that’s right, a button solely for Facebook. For only $49.99 and a two-year contract, you too could have the luxury of a dedicated Facebook button on your phone.
Two-years. Talk about commitment. Who knows where Facebook will be in two-years. With Google+ adding 20-million users in just three-weeks, is it far too soon to wonder if today’s Facebook could become tomorrow’s MySpace?
