Studying the impact of innovation on business and society

Google and the Rise of Facebook

In 2007 I said that Facebook would be the home page for your personal brand. Now it seems that Facebook is officially setting out to become your homepage period.

The other day I logged into Facebook and noticed a new message at the top of the screen. I was presented with a simple way to make Facebook my homepage so that I could see “what’s happening with friends as soon as I opened my browser.”  And, I’m not the only one.

Why am I taking the time to let you know that Facebook is making it easy for you to drag and drop Facebook to your home button?

Facebook started out as a social network, but it is officially growing into a full-fledged personal OS, where friends and experiences are interconnected inside and outside of Facebook. And, at the center of everything is you. Facebook is a platform where relationships create the construct for the 3C’s of information commerce. The acts of sharing and consuming content in social media represent the social dealings between people and set the stage for interaction and education.But, it is the platform that offers a sandbox for development and also a solid foundation for social architecture. It is the sites that feature Facebook interconnects that weave the fabrics of relationships and the ties and interests that bind us.

More than one million websites have integrated with Facebook Platform.

150 million people engage with Facebook on external websites every month.

Two-thirds of comScore’s U.S. Top 100 websites and half of comScore’s Global Top 100 websites have integrated with Facebook.

The more we interact with Facebook around the Web through Likes, Shares, and Comments, the more we feed the social effect and the greater the personalization inside Facebook and within its partner sites.

Indeed, according to comScore, Facebook traffic soared by 55.2% hitting 151.1 million in October 2010, up from 97.4 visitors at the same time last year. It’s also important to note that Facebook was home to 300 million active denizens last year and now it has a population of more than 550 million. While Google is earning 173.3 million visits in the U.S., Facebook’s trajectory is only gaining in mass and force. And it’s only gaining momentum…

– 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day

– The average user has 130 friends

– People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook

Don’t Google Me, Facebook Me

Over the years, Google has missed steps to foster a social network of its own, perhaps focusing on a culture of code rather than human culture and behavior. What lies ahead is a quiet war where  your social graph is at stake. Facebook is taking large steps to move you away from Google and toward the social web.  As this new “homepage” request rolls out to active users worldwide, we will see many follow Facebook’s instruction to now make the social graph the starting point to their online experience each and every time they fire up their browser. Doing so changes behavior and teaches us that we can indeed get a little help from our friends by leaning on them for empowerment, entertainment, and enlightenment.

We don’t take to Google for insight, we  now take to the stream…

What’s materializing before us may in fact represent the beginning of the end of the Google era of Web domination. This is the rise of the Facebook economy (F-commerce) where commerce represents the currency of information and engagement and the net worth of the relationships we nurture. While it doesn’t beat the drum in its march toward online supremacy, Facebook is in fact setting out to help you improve the way you communicate, discover, and share. Since you are at the center of the social egosystem, Facebook is designing products and services that make managing and interacting with your social graph more efficient.

From Gmail to Facebook.com > We now have a new messaging platform on its way to us with @facebook.com email addresses yours for the taking. It changes how we think about messages and exchanges and may in fact, encourage us to follow Zuckerberg’s vision away from the traditional inbox. By integrating messaging into one system that connects through multiple clients and devices, Facebook also starts to minimize the value of Google Talk. Does Google turn its 193 million Gmail users out of the inbox and toward a social network…something like say, GoogleMe? Now with its social hooks in MySpace, Google must revisit its human algorithm.

From Google.com to Facebook search > The future of search is social and we are already investing in social media optimization (SMO) in addition to SEO. We can’t underestimate Facebook search. Google has long dominated search and the behemoth of a company is showing its age and its weaknesses. Even though Google is experimenting with integrating social into traditional search results, its algorithm is in dire need of a human touch – a human algorithm. At the same time, Facebook is slowly but surely improving its search feature. What used to simply display results within the network, now starts to feature results from around the Web where the displayed list is curated by the actions of your friends – as part of the platform. This will only improve and become more substantial in the coming months.

From Google Voice to Facebook + Skype > Google Voice is a valuable service that combines voice, Web, and email. While it’s not getting thunderous roars of attention, Skype and Facebook are introducing the ability to call friends directly from the News Feed. As this integration becomes seamless and demand for such a service gains awareness and pervasiveness, Facebook and Skype will rival Google Voice one day.

From Google Latitude to Facebook Places > Google is experimenting with geo location, but Facebook Places is gaining mass adoption. Competing for attention online and offline is helping Facebook merge experiences and channel the activity into the News Feed.

From Google Groups to Facebook Groups > Google Groups was once one of the Web greatest hosts for contextual networks, groups organized by interests, events, and causes. Now with the release of the new and improved Facebook Groups, people are forming nicheworks, networks within networks. Their focused activity is enhanced by a dedicated group framework that fosters collaboration and conversation whether the group unites relationships or actions linked by strong, weak, or temporary ties.

From Google Docs to Facebook + Microsoft Office > Google Docs are the industry standard for Web collaboration around documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms and artistic canvases. While the world was abuzz with Facebook’s messaging service, Microsoft introduced Office Web Apps as part of the new messaging system. The technology alliance allows people to view Word, Excel and PowerPoint attachments with the Office Web Apps directly in Facebook. It just the beginning of something more productive…

Twitter Me This…The Facebook Generation

And what of Twitter? I believe it is the moon that orbits a networked planet. It turns the tides. It defines its rotation.

Twitter is your window to relevance, but Facebook is your homepage for the social Web.

According to recent data released by Hitwise, Facebook accounts for 25% of all page views in the U.S. And it’s only going to skyrocket as we interact with content and one another through the Facebook platform. Depending on which data we review, Google is either in Facebook’s rearview mirror or in its sights. Hitwise claims Facebook has already surpassed Google in terms of views. Earlier we stated that comScore has Facebook nipping at Google’s heels. Either way, it’s just a matter of time until Facebook traffic surpasses Google with tenable data supporting the historic milestone.

We are witnessing the dawn of the social consumer and their network of preference for the immediate future is Facebook.

As I’ve previously observed, the medium is no longer just the message. In social, the medium is the platform and as such, people now represent both the medium and the message where reach is defined by a blending of the social graph, the context of the story and the expansion and contraction of strong, weak, and temporary connections. The Facebook platform serves as the foundation for our Social OS and in turn, we are its driving force. With every action, we trigger an equal and opposite reaction. With our relationships serving as Facebook’s construct, we are realizing that the social graph effect may in fact, spark greater volumes of reaction than Google, or any of us, may have anticipated. Welcome to the Facebook generation…the question is, will you call Facebook home?

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Facebook
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97 COMMENTS ON THIS POST To “Google and the Rise of Facebook”

  1. Dewitahs says:

    What do you think about dealing with Facebook’s privacy problem?

    • briansolis says:

      I think they should proactively stay on top of it…Facebook, and while we’re are it, this country, could greatly benefit by employing a privacy czar. https://www.briansolis.com/2010/08/report-facebook-and-the-new-age-of-privacy/

    • Babar says:

      Hi Brian – Nice article
      Whats your take on that everything is moving on the mobile device?
      Google is already one of the dominant players of Mobile OS and they are now in the pockets of millions of users.
      I agree that Google Voice is not getting the attention at this stage and that they are lacking the social aspect – but it’s a matter of time where we will see Google Voice integration with an updated Android OS version disrupting the entire industry. Personally, I don’t think we have seen the full potential of the “Google age” yet – it has just started. But indeed – it will be exciting to see the mobile future – especially if FB decides to enter the Mobile OS battleground

      br
      Babar
      @babarbaig

    • briansolis says:

      Hello Babar, yes. Google is indeed carving out new channels for its business through Android, Chrome, and also Google TV.

      One interesting stat that I didn’t include in the article is that more than 200 million active users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices.

    • BARS+TONE says:

      Brian, interesting read. I think that it’s clear that Facebook and Google have already squared up and are taking shots at one another. It will be interesting to see how it works out. The Economist had a great article on what Google’s 2nd Act will look like. (Let’s assume Facebook is still in it’s 1st Act, though I bet you’d disagree!) Three things that Google as going for it- 1. a spirit of creativity- nothing (including unmanned cars) is off limits; 2. the Android OS; 3. Chrome and an OS that might work wonders on netbooks. I think that Android might turn out to be a great play as their mobile OS is gaining more and more market share.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Hi Brian (sorry for my english, i’m french) … I think it’s the rise of … Microsoft. All of the new services from Facebook integrate a part of Microsoft. New groups => Microsoft docs (bye bye Google Docs) , New Gigabox => Microsft Apps (bye bye Google Aps), Facebook Places => Hello Bing Maps , External Social Search => Hello bing … I think Microsoft understand it’s impossible to launch a new social media, and buying Facebook or Twitter is impossible. And even if it could be possible, it will be a fail like News Corp and MySpace … or Wave and Google … they haven’t the social media culture and have other vision (beneficts in first).

    I hope you understand my ugly english 🙂

  3. iTbay says:

    Excellent Brian! It’s like were in 1999 all over again … 1999-2.0….these r exciting times….google took a top down approach to the social web whereas facebook took a bottom up approach. Google has to develop it’s localization strategies to build a network that takes the bottom up approach. Technologies will thrive today I believe if they can begin at the lowest level — at the local level…this is what has made facebook grow to where it is…google social strategy is scattered making the trust factor hard for connections to be developed

  4. Mike Handy says:

    Up until this time we have seen unilateral domination on the web, it looks like that time has passed. This doesn’t mean search or google or gmail or facebook is going to die. This is like comparing Apple Juice and Coke… they are totally different! Google and facebook can and will coexist for a very long time. Facebook is not going to completely dominate the web, and google isnt going to be the only search. 2011 will be the year the web starts a fragmentation of usage honestly it looks like twitter, disqus or tumblr will be the common thread that holds the others together.

  5. Jason Murphy says:

    I’d like to see Facebook and PayPal get closer to each other. With Facebook as the default P2P communication and PayPal as the default P2P payment platform I’m surprised to see that they have not tried to brainstorm more ways to work together.

  6. Nope. I may be in the minority, but I choose to actually interact with my circle of friends – people I can talk to, shake hands with and share a beer with – in person.

    Isn’t it an interesting commentary on our culture that we have become virtual slaves to the very tools we designed to “enpower” us. We’ve opted to “like” and “dislike” things and “engage” with pseudo-personalities that may or may not be real.

    I love the reach and capability the web brings; but everything in moderation…

  7. As a teacher, at the moment Facebook’s tech backend really causes me difficulties, so I’m not there as a brand. But oh, how I want to be! Each day I search for someone I can afford to create my landing page! I will find one soon I know.

    But the scope, the reach, the possibilities—wow. I could teach so many children that it’s almost beyond this older gal’s scope!

    Thus far it’s helped my family to regain our closeness, I’m back in touch with old friends, and I’ve met many new ones.

    I’m happy to change with the times! Facebook is nothing but good for me. If they’d just get rid of the proprietary backend software I can’t afford to have anybody deal with!

  8. fascinating changes afoot. What makes this more interesting, to me (I am no technical geek sadly) is that Google has become what it once longed to overthrow. a behemoth dictating, thus her power begins to wane, and facebook is rising. Still I am hesitant to call facebook home, and throw all my brittle eggs in one basket. (in spite of my fond interaction with friends -truly a mad large cocktail party) What of you Mr Solis, you dont say if facebook is the doorway of your domain? So now begins the true internet war? A dastardly tale indeed.

  9. Eastwind says:

    I sign up with face book 3 years ago and use it for a few months. I close my account after that and never go back to it. IMHO facebook is just a waste of time and is for people who had no life period.

    • Devin De Roon says:

      When I am finished with college and graduate I think I will delete my account. I feel like I will not have a need for it when I am done with college. It can only cause me possible problems with trying to get jobs in the future. Facebook is a good tool for younger ages to stay in touch but as I get older I feel like I will have less and less need for it.

  10. Scott Gould says:

    Brian, you nail it every time. So good.

  11. Thanks for this article Brian. At first, I thought Facebook was looking to dominate Google in terms of PPC, but I haven’t even thought of these other areas, aside from the messaging system.

  12. Brilliant and eloquent analysis Brain.

  13. Des Walsh says:

    Typically informative, insightful and thought-provoking, thanks Brian. Like Jennifer I am curious to know whether you have succumbed to FB’s siren homepage call and I am bothered by the risks involved in placing all or most of one’s eggs in the FB basket. I like the fact that what might have seemed like an inexorable path to total web domination by Google looks to having been seriously challenged or even blocked.

  14. Great article. We no longer “google stalk” people, we “facebook stalk” them. However as we have so many ‘friends’ (in San Francisco the average seems to be 400), personal deep connection has gone by the wayside. I am waiting for Facebook Groups (or other) to evolve to meet this……

  15. Google Docs are a great idea – until you have no internet access. It doesn’t happen as much as it used to but when it does…

    Google for Search
    Facebook for Social
    Twitter for News

  16. Garious says:

    Are these predictions or it’s happening already? I think Facebook is becoming a headache for Google that Google has to come up with something like Google Social. If Facebook would fix its privacy and security loopholes, it would have been totally flawless. I guess, we can only hope for Google partnering with… Twitter? It’s all about convergence these days so let’s see who will win before my pc goes to sleep. Thanks Brian! Excellent insights, as ever.

  17. Lynda White says:

    No, I will not be using Facebook for my home page. Facebook is still relevant and very much a part of my marketing day, but I find myself spending more and more time on Twitter.

    Yahoo! is my home page because I love Yahoo’s email and I also like to see relevant news at a glance every morning.

    • Devin De Roon says:

      I agree. My home page should be a site where I can get a quick glance at the news for the day. Facebook as a home page cannot give you quick news that is occuring throughout the rest of the world.

  18. If social networks are designed to be interactive, the integration into one platform seems to defeat the purpose. I don’t interact the same way with people on Facebook as I do on LinkedIn or on Twitter. For me there is still too much time sucking going on on Facebook and I don’t spend a great deal of time there. That being said, I don’t think I will be one to make Facebook my home page.

    Great article, as usual very insightful

  19. Another excellent post.

    I just love Malcom Gladwell’s book; OUTLIERS. there he mentions how the times and season can aid the growth or the death of a persons potential. It is time for a new turn, the times are pregnant, it would soon be the 9th month and FB will just take over. It is not strange that it will happen.

    Somewhere, the number one WebService or WebTool is being develop by a youngster, who will leverage on the technology and events that did not exist yet for FaceBook to use, then it will be time for FaceBook to give way too.

  20. Vb says:

    Great article Brian.

    What do you think about Rockmelt?

    Do you also anticipate From Google Chrome-Firefox to Rockmelt or will Rockmelt take most of its market share from IE?

  21. Jeorge Peter says:

    that’s how far facebook has come, but somewhat out powering google? Maybe not quite.

  22. Bajs says:

    Having a facebook list is almost like having a aweber list  http://aweber.com/?364249

  23. hardaway says:

    Twitter is my home page. Literally. From there I go to FB. I forgot about Google until you mentioned it:-) Except for Google Docs, which is my hard drive. Thanks for causing me to think about how I use the web.

  24. DaniH says:

    I found the stats that you listed very interesting! It’s crazy how much Facebook has grown just in the past year. Facebook has been known to create many opportunities, but at the same time, many consequences to its public as well. I love having Facebook because it has helped me keep in contact with my friends that I no longer live in the same state with. However, I heard just the other day of a police officer being fired from his job because of some pictures that were posted of him on Facebook. Although Facebook can help people keep in contact, it can also kill a person’s career or chance at a career. I have been told that the first place that future employers look up a person is on their Facebook. Regardless, I see Facebook growing drastically in the next year.

    It seems as though the “creator” of Facebook continues to expand his successful thinking. Getting users to select Facebook as their homepage will bring in more competition for advertising since companies will want to have ads on this popular website. As far as competition with Google goes, I don’t think that Facebook is replacing Google; Google just isn’t the only Web dominator anymore. Comparing the two, though, is hard to do since Facebook is a search engine for people, groups, clubs, and some companies, while Google is a search engine for, well, everything else.

  25. I’d be more trusting and willing to have Facebook be my ‘everything OS’ if it wasn’t for the fact that it acts like a big digital bully nowadays. It wants to own everything, but isn’t willing to play fair. The fact that it also is more than willing to give up practically every single bit of information for a price also turns me off. Then again, ‘privacy’ is a lost notion in the world of social nowadays.

    Just as consumers have various choices when it comes to what we wear, eat, etc.—I’ll stick to having choices when it comes to my social engagement. I refuse to let Facebook become my everything.

  26. Buck says:

    The home page button is probably there because people stopped using facebook. I know I’m bored of it. I used to get a lot of updates in new info from friends. Now most of my friends are not active on facebook. So I moved on to twitter for the most part.

  27. Devin De Roon says:

    I was one of the last of my friends to add Facebook. I admit I do check it multiple times throughout the day, but only for a quick minute or so and then I am done with it. I am not one of those people who spends multiple hours on Facebook. I feel like that is a waste of time that is not needed.

  28. Jordan Parsons says:

    As I was reading the comments on the article I noticed several people mention Facebook no longer serving a purpose after they graduated from college. I am a Junior and the thought of deleting my Facebook after graduating college has not crossed my mind, rather, “re-integrating” it to fit my life after college. I plan to utilize all Facebook has to offer, including Facebook+Microsoft Office, which before reading this article I knew nothing about. I think Facebook is great and if utilized to its full potential could be very helpful in college and after-college life.
    Thanks for the article,

    Jordan Parsons
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communications

    • briansolis says:

      Great comment Jordan.

    • Chelsea McGuire says:

      Good points Jordon. But I do believe there is Facebook life after college. In fact I believe it will help with the transition. I have many friends that have graduated that I keep in touch with through Facebook. With this busy world, it is sad to say, but I forget to pick up the phone and call my friends that have moved away, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know how they are doing in the “real world.”
      I have a friend that graduated last May that doesn’t have internet (starter jobs will do that to you) and she feels very disconnected and lonely without Facebook. This is a scary, but also exciting truth about how the evolution of social media is going. We are depending on it for communication because it’s convent.
      Also, my co-workers from my old internship are friends of mine on FB and it allows them to keep in touch and see how I’m doing in school. They may hire me again, so this is a good contact.
      Facebook has changed since I entered college. You know longer have to have a valid school email address to enter. I believe with this change and all the other changes that have been stated above, Facebook benefits many people in different areas of the life cycle.

      Chelsea McGuire
      Oklahoma State University
      School of Media and Strategic Communications

  29. KT says:

    I just wanted to leave some comments on my feelings on what you wrote. While I agree with all that you said (how could I not?) about how Facebook is advancing and integrating and thus taking over, I am one of the users that will be resisting it all. Don’t get me wrong, I like my FB and check it daily (ok, usually several times a day), but I my other internet operations separate. I use the email messaging on FB for quick blurps to people that I do not have any real need or want for their personal email addresses (ie. fellow classmates, co-workers, in-laws, etc.). I like my personal e-mail account to send REAL emails, documents, pictures, etc. It has a much better address book and success rate of adding attachments (and usually no size restrictions). I use the I.M. on FB (when it works) because it is convenient, but I don’t like it. If I had another option of I.M. that I knew all my close friends and family were on I would use it instead. I also like the Google search engine. Facebook’s search options for finding other members is mediocre at best, I can’t see them figuring out a REAL search engine anytime soon. I know these are minor complaints that can be worked out, I am sure, but to me it is the little things that make my internet experience worth while.
    Katherine Sutherland
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Arts & Sciences

  30. Madison says:

    Interesting thoughts! I find it hard to believe that 50% of active Facebook users log in on any given day. Honestly, I log into Facebook multiple times per hour and I would say the same trend goes for 90% of my 1000 friends. I would also argue that the average friend count is more than 130. I took a random sample of my friend’s friend counts and the average came to 950. I wouldn’t expect the overall average of Facebook users to be that high but certainly higher than 130.

    Your article opened my eyes to all of the innovative ideas that Facebook has planned. Between the Microsoft apps that allow the world to see documents and spreadsheets to Facebook email, corporate America could one day rely completely on Facebook to carry out business. I used to consider Facebook as a tool for keeping up with friends and creeping on people who I wasn’t friends with, but now it is phenomenon that is taking over our lives and is becoming an all-in-one source for personal and professional business.

    Great thought-provoking article!!

    Madison Longust
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communications

  31. Rylie says:

    This is a great article. When I first got my Facebook, back in high school, it was the new craze and it still wasn’t open to people who weren’t college students and finally they allowed anyone to join so I did. The only reason I got a Facebook and still have a Facebook is to keep up with old friends and family. Also, I really like that I can put pictures of and my family can see them. Other than that, I don’t use it. I hardly ever update my status and very rarely comment on others. I can totally see where Google isn’t getting as much attention as it used to. Facebook is the top when it comes to the Social Media world. There’s no denying that. Everyone use’s Facebook for business as well personal reasons. It’s intriguing to see where this is all going.

    Rylie Burns
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communications

  32. Paige Pantlik says:

    Paige Pantlik

    I personally use Facebook quite oftenn but I don’t necesarily think that it’s because I “don’t have a life.” I think it’s just the opposite, I have friends and family who live far away from me and it makes me feel closer to them when I can see what they are doing and what is going on with their lives. I think that when I graduate from college and I have a family I will use it less but now it is a great tool so that you can see what kind of events and opportunities are happening around you.
    My college advisers have a facebook page and they will update news with enrollment and class information. It is also nice when my professors have facebooks because that way I can sometimes get responses faster than through e-mail.
    I understand that some people go overboard on facebook and they use it as a distraction, but I have found much greater uses for this social networking sie.

    Paige Pantlik
    Oklahoma State University
    Strategic Communications

  33. Megan says:

    I can’t say that I could ever foresee facebook knocking out Google completely. Google is such a large search engine used by millions of people a day. Although I am learning a ton of information about the importance of facebook in the business world, I understand that it is hard for people to adapt to these changes.

    I think this article is great but a lot of these innovations seem far-fetched. I’m not sure that I’m willing to give up my e-mail address to have an @facebook.com e-mail address. For instance, my grandmother has e-mail. She uses it to keep in touch with her children, grandchildren, and cousins. She is 79 years old and will never get a facebook. I understand these changes might come after her time but there will be other people her age who won’t be willing to change their ways either. However, I do think the facebook plus skype and the facebook plus microsoft office would be great.

    Interesting thoughts though. I’m glad I get to live through this technology crazy time.

    Megan Wright
    Strategic Communications
    Oklahoma State University

  34. Melissaabrandt says:

    wow that was a brilliant commentary

  35. Melissaabrandt says:

    wow that was a brilliant commentary

  36. Nice to see such an interesting and informative topic..
    average internet users don’t have idea about the immense diversification strategies of the facebook and they gonna really surprised to see facebook replacing need for Google….it is true and your article has deep impact.
    But!!!!
    Google is the Ruler…they are not simply relaying on what Google is..they are also diversifying with great pace…
    the enhancements in Google webmaster tools,Google based web browser,and now even the Chrome OS i am really a fan of Google team and wish i could be the part of them..

  37. Joshua Coffman says:

    Great Article and very interesting. It almost seems that the future of the web is heading towards two possible courses. Either Facebook and Google will begin a full scale cyber war for web dominance or they will eventually merge and dominate every aspect of our lives. I don’t use facebook nearly as much as I did my first year of college when I wanted to keep in touch with high school friends.

    One dark side of facebook is the addiction I’ve seen people have to it, especially among older people (late adopters). I grew up with facebook and I never lost touch with my friends. However I know several people in the 30-40 year old range that have had serious marriage problems due to facebook. They basically became facebook junkies constantly talking to and looking for old friends and of course they eventually run into exes on facebook and then its all down hill from there.

    Yes facebook does seem to be forcefully integrating itself in our lives but one cool thing I heard recently is that the degree of separation (the kevin bacon factor) in the US is now 3 people instead of 7 because of facebook.

  38. Joshua Coffman says:

    Joshua Coffman
    Strategic Communications
    Oklahoma State University

  39. Greta Gray says:

    Greta Gray
    Strategic Communications
    Oklahoma State University

    I think it is very interesting that Facebook is growing and adapting to our changing online culture while Google hasn’t changed much at all. It reminds me of something that the CEO of Netflix once said about his company adapting to whatever the demands of the customers were. It was something along the lines of, “Our goal is to rent people movies, using whatever channels we can to do that.” He was saying that whether it meant streaming them online, sending them in the mail, or whatever the next way will be, they will grow to accomodate customers.

    I think this is very similar because that’s what Facebook is doing. They are providing us with social media tools that enable us to be entertained, connect professionaly and really look to them for all of our online needs. They see the needs that are arising, and they want to be the one to meet those needs. I’m not completely sold on the idea of a facebook email account or searching for information on facebook instead of google, but who knows, maybe Facebook will be the next Google.

  40. Greta Gray says:

    Greta Gray
    Strategic Communications
    Oklahoma State University

    I think it is very interesting that Facebook is growing and adapting to our changing online culture while Google hasn’t changed much at all. It reminds me of something that the CEO of Netflix once said about his company adapting to whatever the demands of the customers were. It was something along the lines of, “Our goal is to rent people movies, using whatever channels we can to do that.” He was saying that whether it meant streaming them online, sending them in the mail, or whatever the next way will be, they will grow to accomodate customers.

    I think this is very similar because that’s what Facebook is doing. They are providing us with social media tools that enable us to be entertained, connect professionaly and really look to them for all of our online needs. They see the needs that are arising, and they want to be the one to meet those needs. I’m not completely sold on the idea of a facebook email account or searching for information on facebook instead of google, but who knows, maybe Facebook will be the next Google.

  41. Greta Gray says:

    Greta Gray
    Strategic Communications
    Oklahoma State University

    I think it is very interesting that Facebook is growing and adapting to our changing online culture while Google hasn’t changed much at all. It reminds me of something that the CEO of Netflix once said about his company adapting to whatever the demands of the customers were. It was something along the lines of, “Our goal is to rent people movies, using whatever channels we can to do that.” He was saying that whether it meant streaming them online, sending them in the mail, or whatever the next way will be, they will grow to accomodate customers.

    I think this is very similar because that’s what Facebook is doing. They are providing us with social media tools that enable us to be entertained, connect professionaly and really look to them for all of our online needs. They see the needs that are arising, and they want to be the one to meet those needs. I’m not completely sold on the idea of a facebook email account or searching for information on facebook instead of google, but who knows, maybe Facebook will be the next Google.

  42. moiraeve1 says:

    I’m a heavy user of Facebook. I saw the message about making FB my browser, and I ignored it. Wanna know why? I don’t trust Facebook as a company. They’ve messed with my privacy on more than one occasion. Google is unobtrusive, simple to use, and they don’t engage in the heavy sell that Facebook does.

  43. It is an interesting opinion on this crucial evolution in social media and it is the pulse of the future of social media conversation.
    After reading this article, as well as the other comments, I feel as though I am in a minority. I don’t want an Internet one-stop shop nor do I want Facebook to eventually become my only resource. I like the idea of being loyal to Google for searches and Facebook for social interactions but I am beginning to become disconnected because I do not feel that this loyalty is reciprocal.
    I think there should be something said for simplicity but it has become apparent these Internet giants do not share that sentiment. This article opened my eyes to everything Facebook has or will have the potential to accomplish. Facebook has become so obsessed with fulfilling every one of my “needs” that it is no longer doing what I actually want it to do. I joined the social networking site to do just that, socially network. I set out to do this through seeing all of my friends’ pictures, all of my friends’ status updates and all the basics but the news feed has evolved into a social media nightmare of randomized information that has caused a decline in my ability to effectively network with those I intend to.
    Don’t get me wrong because I still frequently use Facebook, if not the most I have ever before because it is freakishly close to being an addiction. The difference now is that while my usage has increased my engagement has declined. With each Facebook advancement, I become less likely to wish someone on Facebook Happy Birthday. My actual need for simplicity has driven me to have a skyrocketing commitment to Twitter as my social media of choice. I don’t see this trend reversing because my distaste for Facebook has become worse each log in.
    Its selfish and naive for me to assume Facebook would stay the same as when I first joined but with all this advancement Zuckerberg is nothing more than a modern Frankenstein to me. Like Jordan I do not plan on deleting my Facebook account post graduation but I do not share the enthusiasm for the sites evolution
    I appreciated the wealth of information the article provided as well as the spark to the fire it got started in my head on the subject. I hope my dissatisfaction for Facebook did not translate into distaste for Mr. Solis’s commentary or as an ignorant student’s rant. In a rebellious move I am now following Mr. Solis on Twitter but it would be safe for someone to bet the Facebook link will not be clicked on this MacBook Pro.
    Thank you for the article,

    Justin Yearwood
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communication
    School of Media and Strategic Communication

  44. Michael Dozzi says:

    I was somewhat shocked by the stats given in your article; however, at the same time, they seem completely valid! I know my friends and I know how much they love Facebook. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if those stats have increased even more since the ones on this article were posted. I honestly never truly realized what impressive and innovative ideas Facebook has implemented into the online world. It’s incredible to see the progress they have made and how they continue to do so.

    I think it’s easy for us to often look past the amazing advancements a social network site may be making. We simply take it for what it is and utilize it to talk to our friends and post pictures. However, it’s so much more than that and your article does an excellent job at showcasing the true talent this site has behind the friend requests and wall posts.

    Extremely insightful article! Can’t wait to read more!

    Michael Dozzi
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communications

  45. Samantha Wilson says:

    This was a great article to read and very eye opening. I don’t know much about the Facebook vs. Google War, but here are some of my thoughts.

    As of right now, I can’t see Facebook taking over Google and vice versa. I’ve only used Facebook to search for friends and don’t view it as a search engine. To me, Google is more useful in this area because that’s its primary function. The same goes with Facebook being a social media site. I know each are evolving, and it’ll be interesting to see if one of them takes over or if they both co-exist as sites with separate functions.

    I seem to be on the same page as Katherine because I’m resisting the changes of Facebook. Sure, it’s a fun site, but I prefer to keep it separate from being used for e-mail and my prime source of communication. Like many who have commented, I probably won’t delete mine after I graduate from college, but at the same time it depends on what changes it’ll have made by then. However, I agree that Facebook is becoming more of a homepage for social media than Twitter, as it’s more popular.

    Samantha Wilson
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communications

  46. Samantha Powell says:

    i think your views are very interesting. I think you have done your research and have thought about this a lot. I have to agree with Megan Wright, though.

    I feel as though a lot of the ideas do seem far fetched. I cant ever see Facebook putting Google out of business completely. I feel that at some point there will always need to be a line between people’s social lives and the services Google offers. Although Facebook has become business friendly, I dont think it has become business friendly ENOUGH. Google has such a strong foundation that I dont see it going anywhere anytime soon.

    Facebook has made so many changes and you seldom see Google change anything. If Google changes anything, it is only to add more options, but never to take away the old ones.

    I do think Facebook and Skype and Facebook and Microsoft office would be a powerhouse. It would have a lot to offer and would put Facebook on a whole new level. I think its a great idea!

    I enjoyed reading and find your views interesting. Thanks for the input.

    Samantha Powell
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communications

  47. Samantha McWilliams says:

    Google and the Rise of Facebook

    Your stats are interesting, and as someone mentioned, have probably grown since then. Especially the average user’s amounts of friends, seeing as most of my Facebook friends have at least 400 or 500. I can only imagine how much time I spend on it as well.

    Facebook doesn’t need to add an email account. I utilize the two email addresses I already have, one for school and a personal email. Google, Skype, Microsoft, and Facebook should all stay separate. Facebook has enough going on. It also shouldn’t be used as a search engine. I agree with Justin when he says “I don’t want an Internet one-stop shop.” It’s the Internet, not Super Wal-Mart.

    Even though Facebook may have surpassed Google “hit” wise, I can’t see Facebook ever taking over Google. Both are used for two different purposes. I like the unchanging simplicity of Google and am starting to dislike the evolutionary clutter of Facebook. If Facebook keeps this up, I will never be calling it home. I’m not one that likes to keep my house a mess.

    Samantha McWilliams
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Strategic Communications

  48. Kim Duncan says:

    I agree with so many others on here, I don’t think I will ever be calling Facebook “home.” While I do love it, maybe more than I should, I just can’t see it replacing all the things listed in the article. I think what everyone loves about Google is that it stays the same. Yes, there are seasonal changes to the logo and every once in awhile a fun game to play, but for the most part it has stayed the exact same. There is some comfort to that and as consumers I believe we like consistency. Facebook is constantly changing. As soon as you get used to the new homepage or the new profile or whatever it may be, they change it. However, I do think that Facebook is an excellent social networking site and I don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon. I like the idea of having Microsoft Office and Skype on Facebook, those are two great ways to merge interests. I just can’t ever see myself having a Facebook email account. I already have 3 email accounts and it’s enough work keeping up with those. I honestly just don’t see the need for a Facebook email account, but that’s just my opinion.

    Also, I agree with what some other people have said on here, I definitely don’t think Facebook is for people “with no lives.” All of my best friends go to different colleges throughout the US, and I live 4 hours away from my family. Facebook is the easiest form of communication, and it’s something that almost everyone in my life uses it. My mom is on Facebook as well as my brother and of course all my friends. It’s so easy to share pictures and keep people updated all in one spot.

    As far as the future with Facebook goes, while some of us may not like the changes that are ahead, we will not doubt adjust as time goes on and in 5 years these changes will seem normal just like when Facebook first came out!

    Great article, thank you for sharing this information with us!

    Kim Duncan
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media & Strategic Communication

  49. Weston Shepherd says:

    Weston Shepherd
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communication

    Great post, very interesting. The stat that stuck out to me the most is that Facebook is accountable for 25% of all page views. I don’t realize how much I contribute to this but then I notice that I’ve always got it opened in a separate tab regardless of what I’m doing: Homework, watching shows, etc.

    My preference is Twitter but this is definitely Facebook’s world. And now that Zuckerberg is the “person of the year” and has his own movie, Facebook keeps pushing it’s ceiling higher and higher–if it even has a ceiling anymore.

  50. I’ve never had a home page. I use the feature that a few browsers have, to re-open all the tabs that I had open when the browser closed. This might also mean I have multiple homepages, but that’s not how I view it. Google and Facebook are among my most frequently re-opened tabs, but so are Pandora, Twitter, YouTube, Pogo, hotmail, my university’s homepage, and various forum sites. But as my interests change, so do these sites: which is why I do not see the internet turning into a single domain owned by Facebook. Each of these sites has a known specialty, and that’s what users access them for. If I wanted reliable information about the Milky Way, I wouldn’t ask on Facebook. If I wanted to know when Jen is graduating college I wouldn’t ask on YouTube. Even if the sites become even more connected, it would be a mess for all the different functions to be accessed on a single “home page.”

    I see the point, that Facebook is broadening its functions and becoming omnipresent: but if it turns the entire internet into a massive ever-changing ball of UI confusion and tangled half-assed content, it will kill everything great about the internet. So I, for one, hope that does not happen.

    Heather Spencer
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Architecture

  51. Rgdean says:

    I find it interesting that Facebook is on the verge (if not closer) of surpassing Google. It’s an interesting comparison to me however, because to me the two web sites contrast highly. Google has had its range of social networks over the years, none on Facebook’s scale obviously, but I find it hard to believe that the ENTIRE online culture will shift away from Google.

    I use these web sites for two different things. I never need to know a random piece of information and think to myself, “Facebook will have the answer.” I can’t foresee the Facebook platform completely surpassing Google in all forms of content, maybe I’m just narrow-minded and can’t see the big picture.

    I find the subject of F-Commerce to be fascinating because we always judge someone’s social value based on the company they keep. Due to Facebook, our social value becomes public and much more open to outside scrutiny. A question I would like to pose is, how do we differentiate between true friendships, and people that just happen to be in each other’s friends lists?

    Greg Dean
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communication

  52. Rgdean says:

    I also Find it ironic that as I post this comment, the information box that asks who I am displays a variety of social networks to connect to. Facebook being one of them.

  53. Kylie Paul says:

    Like most people my age, I am frequently on Facebook. While I love using it to connect with people and I think some of the new features are pretty interesting, I believe there are some areas where Facebook while never surpass Google. One of these is the search function. Although I have noticed the improvements in Facebook’s search function (i.e. adding in results from around the web) it pales in comparison to the power of Google’s search and, in my personal opinion, it always will. I agree with the point Kim made that consumers like consistency. Yes it’s true, Google has remained pretty static over the years but I believe that is why people keep coming back. Consumers don’t like change. As she pointed out, Facebook is constantly changing its homepage and anyone who has a Facebook can attest to the fact that people don’t like when this happens. Every time a change is made to the site protests groups begin popping up rallying against the new layout design and people voice their distaste via status updates. Although improvements are always appreciated, I do like the fact that even i go to Google I know exactly what I’m getting: a search bar and my query answered.

    Kylie Paul
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communications

  54. Anna Smith says:

    This article opened my eyes to all that Facebook is turning into. I don’t think it will ever take over total domination for several reasons. Mainly, Google has so many branches that they now could dominate if, and only if, the whole world agreed to use strictly Google. In other words, Web sites besides Facebook have become fully integrated in almost every aspect and still have not taken domination.

    Anna Smith
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communications

  55. Sarah West says:

    Google and Facebook.
    Like most, I am on Facebook many times a day. Facebook for me though is not to find out information when researching. Facebook is simply to stay up to date with my friends. While I do think that Google is losing many people from their social media ideas that they have come up with I do not think that Google will ever lose people from there search engine. Google is always the first thing I go to when I am looking for something on the Internet. It is easy, fast, and accurate. I think that as long as Google keeps up that aspect of their company or site for that matter that they will do fine. They just need to realize that they are probably not ever going to be able to win over facebook on the social part of their site.

    Sarah West
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communication

  56. Gant Lee says:

    Gant Lee
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Strategic Communications

    @briansolis
    I noticed that you mentioned the number of cellular devices that accessed Facebook. I recently saw an interview with a Facebook exec saying that there would not be a Facebook phone. And I think that this is a definite reflection of Facebook’s interesting way of infiltrating our lives. Google does this thing where they buy many things that you see and use. Google owns many things. But Facebook does not. Facebook does not want to own everything you have, it just wants to be in it. They are all about integration. It would be useless to try and make a Facebook phone because everybody already has Facebook on their phones. People will use Facebook on whichever phone they can, even if it’s by text message on a Nokia flip phone.

    Google and Facebook seem to be running the same race, but they will cross different finish lines. Every now and then, Google will think they can cross the finish line that Facebook is trying to, but it just does not work. I think that Facebook’s integration attitude is a great business model and serves to be the correct guideline in moving towards more mobile integration.

  57. Jordan Griffis says:

    Facebook seems to be taking over the internet. As a college-aged person, I’ve had the privilege to watch facebook start from the very beginning and grow to what it is now. Something I’ve noticed a lot lately is that on commercials on television, at the end where normally the product/company website would be at the bottom of the screen, it just says something like “find our facebook page.” Facebook IS everything on the internet for a lot of people.
    I think a lot of it is generational though, as well. The older generation doesn’t always understand that young people aren’t using facebook in PLACE OF social interaction, but as a tool that leads to increased social interaction (and more).
    Anyway, we all know facebook is a force to be reckoned with and Zuckerberg has about nearly taken over the internet, so this was a very interesting read, and even more interesting will be seeing what facebook becomes next.
    Jordan Griffis
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Media and Strategic Communications

  58. Becca Brooks says:

    Beside the fact that one whole fourth of web pages are most likely used to log onto Facebook, our generation getting the nickname “Facebook Generation,” really got me thinking. Do we really want that to be what we are remembered for? I want to leave a legacy of real and raw conversation, not party photographs I posted or a funny video I shared. As much as I love Facebook and am 99.9% physically addicted, I think we need to remember what its like to call an old friend, sit down and have a chat rather than posting “Happy Birthday” on their wall once a year.

    All of your stats are really interesting and well researched. I don’t see Facebook ever surpassing Google, how could it? They should remain their own separate entities. Google is for searching, Facebook is for keeping in touch and sharing ideas, photos, and videos (at least that is what I use it for).

    I think Microsoft needs to adapt before Facebook takes their relationship any farther. I do not have the most recent form of Office, but even as I type this comment, Google and Facebook are both underlined with red, spelled wrong to the eyes of spell check. If these two platforms are changing the world, they should be recognized as correct.

    Becca Brooks
    Oklahoma State University
    School of Strategic Communications

  59. thank goat i got both “Twitter is your window to relevance, but Facebook is your homepage for the social Web.”

  60. I believe Google will always be unbeatable… even though Facebook comes closer in competition with Google, we must remember that Facebook is defined as a social network & Google is apparently a search engine. Therefore, both have altogether a different purpose.

  61. I believe Google will always be unbeatable… even though Facebook comes closer in competition with Google, we must remember that Facebook is defined as a social network & Google is apparently a search engine. Therefore, both have altogether a different purpose.

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