Douglas Rushkoff latest post at daily beast is covering the battle between Google vs Facebook, a fight I have been posting regularly about. In my opinion it´s a data vs people fight - numbers vs human, but Rushkoff has a less optimistic view on the future.
Excerpts from article:
Google´s battle with Facebook might come with collateral damage: your real-life friendships.
Google announced this week that it is putting a few new bells and whistles on its Friend Connect software. Users visiting sites that have the application installed will be able to fill out little profiles of themselves and see the profiles of others who have been there. Presumably, regular visitors of the same sites will seek each other out based on shared opinions and preferences. And make friends. Think of it as Facebook functionality without the Facebook.
The real difference between the two services is the intention of the companies behind them. Facebook has extended its functionality onto the Web in order to draw us back onto Facebook. Google doesn’t have a networking hub to draw us into, so what’s in it for the search giant?
The most important (but last to be mentioned) upgrade to Google’s Friend Connect is a feature that allows Web sites to target advertisements to individuals based on their Friend Connect profiles. No, Google isn’t really providing us access to each other. It’s providing advertisers with better access to each of us.
Putting Google’s application on your site means your ads could work better and you’ll get more money. Which do you think most bloggers are going to choose?
So who is going to win? Google, of course. And it’s not because the company is better at social. It’s because Google is better at making money, and helping others do so.