Who will win in the Google vs Facebook race?

Posted by Linda Curtis On Tuesday, July 12th 2011 in Technology

Google’s new social network may be able to give Facebook a run for its money in the future. However, the most important factor that will make the difference between the two will be the privacy policies. A well-known saying states that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery; however in the web industry it is more than that. In this industry it means that a company acknowledges another one’s success and does all it can to surpass its rival.

When talking about social media, it is an acknowledged truth that for the last years Facebook was the model everyone planned to imitate. Even though Google tried to take the lead a few times before, it failed. However, now it seems the search the search giant managed to pick the winning ticket with its new Google+. The new social platform is just as good as Facebook in some areas and better in others, being similar to a realtime group video chat. Even though Facebook soon answered with its own video chat, it could not surpass Google’s.

Considering the fact their back and forth will keep going for some time, many wonder who will emerge victorious. This new rivalry will most likely turn out to be the best thing for users. Why? Simply because the only way one or another can actually win is by successfully preserving personal privacy. This means that the fiercer the competition becomes, the more the companies will turn their attention in the direction of user privacy on social networks.

"People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people," stated Mark Zuckerberg last year. That means if users have actually gotten comfortable with the idea of sharing personal information, then it is certain Facebook will remain the leader of the social network market. If not, then Google+’s ability to manage personal data in an easier way may be the company’s key to success.