According to comScore, Google+ is now in the record books as being the fastest website to reach 25 million users and if reports are to be believed the folks at Facebook are now in "lockdown" mode which is described as "a self-imposed period of intensive product development."
Paraphrasing the great Satchel Paige with my title, it seemed quite appropriate given the latest news re: Google+.
Now before I go on, full disclosure requires me to tell you I posted something at the end of June titled "Is Google Too Late With The Google+ Project?" In that particular post I referenced a New York Times article which openly questioned whether or not Google+ was in fact too late to the Social Media Dance. I myself was not too sure if Google+ would go the way of Google Buzz, Orkut and Google Wave.
Given the latest news, I would say my questions as well as many other's have been answered... resoundingly.
Amount Of Time To Get To 25 Million Users:
- Facebook - roughly 3 years
- Twitter - Little more than 30 months
- MySpace - Less than 2 years
- Google+ - Less than 2 months
Now before you go patting Google+ on the back, consider one very, not-so-minor detail as to why it has taken Google+ so little time compared to the other Social Media sites...
It's Google.
Think about it... Before Facebook, Twitter and MySpace launched you had no idea who they were, what they were about and so on. You relied on these sites to grow organically at first.
But Google+, hell it has the name Google right in it. And who doesn't know Google?
Say you hear of a new cereal on the market. Sounds great, you're thinking of trying it but the name of the company producing it is one you have never heard of... you will be initially reticent to try it, right?
However, what if you hear of a new cereal on the market that carries the Kellog's name attached to it? You're probably more inclined to try this compared to the unknown brand, yes?
As for Facebook and the whole "lockdown" mode... if a Q&A on Quora is to be believed the Facebook folks are taking the rapid rise of Google+ quite seriously.
Q: Has Facebook gone into lockdown mode in response to Google+? I've heard from a reliable source that Facebook has gone into lockdown and cancelled various summer events in response to Google+.
A: I work with Facebook engineering, and I can say the answer is kind of, not exactly, maybe, sure. We are in lockdown. It's official; you can see the lockdown sign lit up in the offices. It's no secret. However, the first suggestion I saw of a lockdown was a week before G+ came out. It was posted on an internal group and had over 50 likes when I stopped paying attention.
The lockdown could actually be a harbinger of things to come however as the last time Facebook went into lockdown mode they emerged with Facebook Places and Facebook Groups.
I've used the term "one-app" (as opposed to "one-up) before as in 'Google and Facebook will continue to try and "one-app" each other' and I think that's precisely what's going to keep happening and we, as the end users will be the beneficiary.
Sources: reuters.com, businessinsider.com, Google Images, Don't Look Behind You Facebook, Google+ May Be Gaining On You