Ok so a while ago I wrote a post about how kids (18-30ish) are now starting to use Facebook as Google. Rather than go to the extreme effort of opening a new browser window, typing in google.com and then entering their search terms they are opting to simply search on Facebook.
Kind of a cool idea. Works pretty well when searching for local companies etc. I don't think that Facebook actually intended this to be the case but the reality is that people are always looking for faster ways to find what they need. A point, by the way, that is not lost on Google.
In the past comparing Google and Facebook has been like comparing apples and oranges. Google does search stuff, SEO, ads etc. Facebook is for finding your long-lost high school crew or posting nasty images of your drunk friends.
Now, however, there seems to be a cross-contamination. Facebook is becoming a powerhouse for ads and has a cement foot in the social media world. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Facebook is the most important social media tool available for companies today. (go ahead, comment away. I know you wanna ;)
So why does Google think that their new +1 button is going to give Facebook a run for it's money?
If you work in social media you, most likely, push content through a myriad of sites. Write a post, "like" it for Facebook, "stumble" it for Stumble Upon, "tweet" it for Twitter etc.
Google tried to get some of this action through their site Google Buzz but it hasn't really caught on that well so they are on a new kick now.
The +1 button, near as I can figure, is meant to appear next to search results when the user types in their term. By clicking the button the user can recommend that site to their friends. Of course, you have to be logged into your Google account to see if your friends have +1'd a site and when you recommend it it goes out to those gmail contacts. Here's Google's explanation.
They also plan on introducing a +1 meme like the ones for Facebook and Twitter that appear next to blog posts so people can +1 actual articles too. Cool, I guess but reliant on the Google account. (nothing is available through Wordpress yet though)
I use Mail for Mac. I don't love my gmail accounts. I use them out of necessity but all of my contacts are in Mail.
Is this a way to force people to use gmail?
It's completely reasonable that Google wants a piece of the social media pie. Who wouldn't? It's, without question, the future of the internet. Their immense following gives them the chops to manipulate the way things are done online too. The +1 is clever. It's going to force SEO people AND social media professionals to add it to their services and it will, I think, become a powerful tool in the social media arsenal.
That said, I wonder how it will work for people like me who have several gmail accounts with minimal contacts in each and almost all of my correspondence going through Facebook and Mac Mail.
Maybe Apple and Microsoft should be taking a closer look at what those smarties over at Google are up to?