Should Facebook Be Worried?

[GodKlown]

Obviously, everyone has really forgotten about MySpace and Friendster and all the social sites along the lines of history. If another company can come along and do it better, people will flee FB quicker than rats leaving a sinking ship. A lot of people thought Twitter was going to be the newest craze, until it just stagnated as a public SMS site and didn't develop any further. It was just like having a FB wall, without all the Farmville posts.
Now if the almighty Google can introduce something similar to FB, integrate something new into it but generically keep it close to the format of FB, they will easily draw at least casual gamers away from FB. If they wanted to make it easier, they could simply have you import things from FB to their new service. If you registered on FB through Gmail, you already know what I am talking about.

I'm confident it wouldn't take much to unseat FB from its' current throne. If they combine 3D avatars (like XBL), the casual gaming platform (like FB), and the social aspect (like Twitter), they could cobble together a monster to topple the FB behemoth.
I use FB to check up on friends and advertise, so I check in on it once a day and play a couple of games while I'm there to kill some time in the evenings before my friends show up online. I'm not addicted or married to the site, and welcome someone else coming along to bring a fresh perspective to that area already. FB had a good run, but it is time for something new. Twitter is going to crash and burn soon enough and doesn't have the influence to take over anything. If Google makes their social site integrate easily with Android, they would attract people a lot easier anyhow.

 

[Ossian]

Google can't beat Facebook with this generation.

If everyone has already established themselves on Facebook and they have all their friends together and all their photos why would they go go through the trouble of reestablishing all that all over again on an entirely new system which many of their friends may not even be a part of.

caughmyspacecaugh

 

[The Random One]

Are all of you serious about joining a Google social network if it existed? Because last I checked orkut [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkut] existed for ages.

That said, if like orkut New Google Thing creates a profile for you if you have a gmail account I guess it'd start with a huge market share. And there's no one to stop it from importing your Facebook info, especially because of how crappy FB's privacy policy is.

Yeah, it'll suck for Facebook. I said I'd skip it and go straight to the next social site so I'd better get ready to join it in time to complain when it becomes mainstream.

 

[grammarye]

Can't help but hope that Google succeeds. They at least started with a concept of 'do no evil' - Facebook started with the concept 'lets' make lots of money'.

Then again, I don't social network, and I detest social games (and before anyone comments, I am a very social person, just not on the internet , because there's always that little clause that says whatever you share ceases to be your intellectual property. One of these days people will realise just how little of their supposedly private lives they still own, and how little is private.

 

[Dooly95]

And we gamers are a step closer to the gamepocalypse, where "social games" become the norm, and we actual gamers are forced into tiny shops and corners and basements, like the tabletop pen and paper crowd was when video games hit the mainstream.
And we're helping it along.

... When were gamers looked upon as being anywhere normal? When did we play our games outside of our corners and basements?

I mean, sure, with the addition of Halo, there were some advancements to the main TV with a couple of beers, and with the introduction of the Wii, we had some good laughs at said TVs being broken. But these were more catered to the casual gamers. The industry is changing - we're not doing a thing, there's nothing we can do.


As for Googlebook, I dunno. I was late in jumping on mySpace, Bebo, and finally Facebook, and I'm constantly trying to hide comments of various tests, Farmville, and apps that do nothing. I'm guessing Google's version won't be any different, and I'll jump late onto that one as well after everyone has gone.

That said, I think Google can pull the base away from Facebook and cause the eventual shift in popularity. If they've already bought Zynga, then they don't have to restart their farms, they can just import it straight off from their Facebook account. Google also has youtube, and everything else that Facebook has google will buy or make better.

Just as Facebook crept up and slowly invaded everyone's lives, Google will do the same, if everyone doesn't realize that they're just wasting their lives away again.

 

[mikespoff]

" history has shown that Google does not simply enter new markets; Google dominates them."

...which is why Google Buzz is the social networking platform of choice, and everyone does their online shopping on Froogle instead of Amazon these days.

 

[oranger]

And we gamers are a step closer to the gamepocalypse, where "social games" become the norm, and we actual gamers are forced into tiny shops and corners and basements, like the tabletop pen and paper crowd was when video games hit the mainstream.
And we're helping it along.

... When were gamers looked upon as being anywhere normal? When did we play our games outside of our corners and basements?

I mean, sure, with the addition of Halo, there were some advancements to the main TV with a couple of beers, and with the introduction of the Wii, we had some good laughs at said TVs being broken. But these were more catered to the casual gamers. The industry is changing - we're not doing a thing, there's nothing we can do.

The move towards "the main TV with a couple of beers for halo" was a step towards casual play, not mainstreaming. And I don't know about you, but I've been an unashamed gamer my whole life, and never felt the need to hide in a basement, or never tell others.

 

[oranger]

" history has shown that Google does not simply enter new markets; Google dominates them."

...which is why Google Buzz is the social networking platform of choice, and everyone does their online shopping on Froogle instead of Amazon these days.

Yeah, I wondered about that line...where's the proof of this, you know? the escapist generally has higher standards than that.

 

[GudangGaram]

Let google enter the market of social gaming, it might save me some annoying farmville requests.

 

[Phoenixlight]

Fuck google, seriously I despise their evil company for trying to steal everyone's cookies and for trying to take over the internet.

 

[Dooly95]

And we gamers are a step closer to the gamepocalypse, where "social games" become the norm, and we actual gamers are forced into tiny shops and corners and basements, like the tabletop pen and paper crowd was when video games hit the mainstream.
And we're helping it along.

... When were gamers looked upon as being anywhere normal? When did we play our games outside of our corners and basements?

I mean, sure, with the addition of Halo, there were some advancements to the main TV with a couple of beers, and with the introduction of the Wii, we had some good laughs at said TVs being broken. But these were more catered to the casual gamers. The industry is changing - we're not doing a thing, there's nothing we can do.

The move towards "the main TV with a couple of beers for halo" was a step towards casual play, not mainstreaming. And I don't know about you, but I've been an unashamed gamer my whole life, and never felt the need to hide in a basement, or never tell others.

I've phrased that wrong; I meant society hasn't looked upon gamers with such good notions.

 

[Patathatapon]

I have a feeling that if this goes on, Facebook will be kicked off it's throne and replaced by Google. HOWEVER! If Google proceeds, they will gain a monopoly much like Facebook's or MySpace, or any other social networking site. They will also fall down the same hole they put Facebook in.

If they back out, Another social network site will find it's way to unseat Facebook, and gain the monopoly over that, possibly making it worse for Google if they become stronger than Facebook.

I would choose the first option if I were in Google's position, but Google might lose domination at this rate, and we can only hope they continue to dominate.

 

[antidark777]

People thought myspace and bebo were too popular to die, those sites are dead if not on life-supoport. The same can easily happen to facebook. The attention-seeking masses will have their little bubble burst when it becomes a ghost town