Google+ vs Facebook: Tale of the Tape
Internet Marketing
Google+ vs Facebook. Enough of the talk. We got our Google+ invite last night and have been meticulously breaking it down. Let’s go to the tape to find out who wins this showdown.
| Google+ | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organize friends with: | Circles | Lists | Let’s face it. Circles and lists are pretty unimaginative, but we can’t help but think of cell phone companies when we hear “circle” and “friends” and that’s enough to send us running for the puke bags. | |
| Interests: | Sparks | Likes | Google gets an A for effort here. We get the “sparks your interest” thing. But, at the end of the day, you’re still “Liking” something. | |
| Collaboration: | Huddles | Groups | Google+ | This one goes to the search giant – mainly because no one knows what the hell a Group is on Facebook anymore. |
| Chat: | Hangouts | Chat | Push | Facebook Chat was probably the worst idea since MySpace. Sure you can customize it so you don’t get bombarded with pings when you open it, but it’s still the death knel of productivity, so we’re not sure adding video with Google+ is the answer. |
| Solves Privacy by: | Making soothing videos | Being better than everyone else | Have you seen those Google+ Videos? They feel like an Alanis Morissette concert. | |
| Biggest Hurdle: | Its history | Its future | While Google+ has to overcome a history of social failure (Jaiku, Buzz, Wave, Profiles, Okurt), Facebook has to avoid the future that its predecesor, MySpace, took. | |
| Founder(s) Known for: | Not being evil | Being evil | Call us crazy, but there is something refreshing about knowing what upper management is like. We know Zuck’s a prick, and that doesn’t bother us. “Don’t be evil,” well, we’re not buying it. | |
| Privacy Concerns: | Instant Upload | Malicious Apps | Google+ | We can’t wait for the first celebrity scandal involving sexting and Instant Upload. This could be a game changer. |
| Reaction after 5 minutes: | Now what? | Damn. Sucked in again. | Google+ | There is something to be said for an empty social network. Get in. Get out. Get on with your work. |
| So, there you have it. When you take a subjective look at Google+ vs Facebook, you can clearly see that Facebook emerges victorious. Long live our time sucking, troll promoting social overlords! | ||||
About Cody Swann
Cody Swann is an entrepreneur, developer, strategist, banged up ex-football walk-on, retired body builder and former journalist born and raised in South Florida. He currently splits his time between his hometown of Stuart, FL and Los Angeles, CA. Cody founded Gunner Technology, a highly sought after digital agency, specializing in helping companies maximize profits through custom web development, technology efficiencies, social media strategy and search engine marketing.
As a manager and developer at ESPN for nearly six years, Cody led development and vision for two of ESPN’s most popular online features: Sports Scoreboards and GameCasts. Additionally Cody oversaw all aspects of MyESPN and ESPN’s social network, ESPN Fan Profiles. Cody worked with Technology, Editorial, Sales, Marketing and relevant business stakeholders to mold ESPN’s social media strategy, develop custom applications for it and execute it. Under his direction, ESPN successfully ported large portions of its core product from a proprietary Java stack to an open source Ruby on Rails stack, capable of standing up and performing under the tremendous load world's most popular sports site delivers.
Cody began forging his technological knowledge more than 10 years ago, developing and designing websites in college. His development work has included web development, web design, content writing, digital photography and digital video production for award-winning sites like Gainesville.com, GatorSports.com and ESPN.com. He has helped set digital strategy and direction for companies in the New York Times Regional Newspaper group, ESPN, ABC and Disney.
He is a recognized expert in web development, social media strategy, search engine optimization, conversion optimization, analytics tracking and business planning. He has worked with large interactive media companies to small and medium sized businesses. Cody motivates and inspires creative teams to deliver superb, polished work under tight deadlines.