Facebook vs. Google Plus Round 2

If you are an avid user of today’s social media networking sites, you are aware of the battle between Facebook and Google Plus for the supremacy of the social network industry. In round one, Google released the first wave of beta testing to select individuals, to test out the newest platform in Google’s arsenal to compete with Facebook. So far, all the reviews have been great and it seems as though Google has one-upped Facebook in terms of innovation and ease for its user base.

Except, there are two problems. One: Google is still in the trial phase and has not gone live for the general public since it is a closed testing. Two: Facebook has just fired back a combination of hits straight into the heart of Google Plus – video chat and group chat.

Talks of Facebook integrating a Skype based video chat feature was the talk of the town not too long ago, but the rumors were dismantled when Microsoft obtained Skype. Now it seems that such an acquisition did not hurt the video chat feature collaboration, which is now in operation. Facebook has also released the ability to group chat, allowing you to invite other users into an already active chat.

The features have been released to the Facebook platform, yet are still under development. This raises the question: is Facebook threatened? It is not like Facebook to release any features or applications to the users that are not functional. This may be a ploy by Facebook to keep its users loyal to the brand, or the final product may have experienced technical difficulties during the implementation process. Either way, neither company has a functioning video chat or group chat feature available to the general public, yet.

This giant leap forward for Facebook does not come as any surprise. With the release of Google Plus and the rumors of how innovative and user friendly it will be, Facebook clearly had to step up their game to compete.

There are still a few things Facebook needs to shape up before it can reign supreme. For starters, the privacy policy of Google Plus is 6 times shorter than Facebook’s. If you aren’t aware, Facebook has had some issues with their privacy policies in the past. If you begin to read into them, you will also need a lawyer to explain it, line by line, in laymen’s terms for you to understand each meaning. Google Plus has kept it simple and short so that their users can be at ease. No one wants to question the privacy of any social networking site. Google Plus has made it clear; easy and user friendly is their stance. Until Facebook cleans up their privacy policy, the simplicity of Google Plus may divert users away from Facebook to try out the newest addition to the social media realm. For a deeper look into the privacy debate, check out this video from Newsy.

Facebook, for now holds the championship title for business advertising. The user base and functionality of Facebook gives businesses an edge on marketing to their target consumers. The advantage Google Plus has is there webmaster tool kit. Since the details of Google Plus are kept to the basics, we are unsure how marketing will evolve on this new platform. I did however find a video made by a Product Manager at Google, who lets us know that they are working on a different, more personalized experience for businesses on Google Plus.What this means for marketing? Since we are unsure what this new “experience” will include, it is hard to formulate plausible assumptions as to its functionality. What I do know is that incorporating the arsenal of products and tools Google has to offer to businesses will make it a force to be reckoned with. This will be another advantage over Facebook: differentiate business experience from the personal experience.

Although Google Plus is not live, and we have not had the chance to test out its features, the reviews from multiple people using the platform are available. We hope to see this platform go live in the near future. Whether Google Plus will survive is unknown, but so far, the outlook seems positive.

When Google Plus is made public, be sure to check Progressive Media Concepts for our management services with this revolutionary new platform.