Comments on: Watch Out Google, Here Comes Facebook http://www.ldsmediatalk.com/2007/07/09/watch-out-google-here-comes-facebook/ Sharing technology ideas for LDS parents and youth Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:44:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Jeff http://www.ldsmediatalk.com/2007/07/09/watch-out-google-here-comes-facebook/#comment-5954 Jeff Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:19:24 +0000 http://www.ldsmediatalk.com/2007/07/09/watch-out-google-here-comes-facebook/#comment-5954 I don't understand really understood this obsession with Facebook. Yeah, it's cool, and it helps you stay in touch, but it is hardly a threat to real websites. Apps is OK, but among my ~250 friends, almost none are using any applications of real utility; they're all little friendly widgets that are sometimes cool to have (more often asinine clutter), but ultimately unfulfilling and integrating the functionality of most full-featured websites (excluding a few niches) within that little box is difficult and annoying. Facebook hasn't "opened their code". They've provided an API. It's not a revolutionary API, from my experience; it makes it relatively simple and quick to access Facebook's databanks from within your own program, but every other decent API ever does this too. Likewise, the importance of becoming the de facto "platform" within your sector has been understood in software development for years, and Facebook is not the first website to provide users with an API. Digg, Yahoo, Google, last.fm, and many others beat Facebook to the punch with solutions that aren't altogether too different. I don't understand why Facebook is lavished with such undeserved hyperbole. I don’t understand really understood this obsession with Facebook. Yeah, it’s cool, and it helps you stay in touch, but it is hardly a threat to real websites.

Apps is OK, but among my ~250 friends, almost none are using any applications of real utility; they’re all little friendly widgets that are sometimes cool to have (more often asinine clutter), but ultimately unfulfilling and integrating the functionality of most full-featured websites (excluding a few niches) within that little box is difficult and annoying.

Facebook hasn’t “opened their code”. They’ve provided an API. It’s not a revolutionary API, from my experience; it makes it relatively simple and quick to access Facebook’s databanks from within your own program, but every other decent API ever does this too.

Likewise, the importance of becoming the de facto “platform” within your sector has been understood in software development for years, and Facebook is not the first website to provide users with an API. Digg, Yahoo, Google, last.fm, and many others beat Facebook to the punch with solutions that aren’t altogether too different.

I don’t understand why Facebook is lavished with such undeserved hyperbole.

]]> By: ldsWebguy http://www.ldsmediatalk.com/2007/07/09/watch-out-google-here-comes-facebook/#comment-4298 ldsWebguy Tue, 10 Jul 2007 15:55:38 +0000 http://www.ldsmediatalk.com/2007/07/09/watch-out-google-here-comes-facebook/#comment-4298 Kevin, You're right, you don't usually think of Google and Facebook in the same sentence. I think the parallels are in: (1) Traffic. The more traffic (of any kind), the more advertising dollars. So they are competing for advertising dollars. (2) But I think the real competition isn't in their current markets (search and social network)--it's in what they are trying to grow into--application platforms. Now that Google has huge traffic, it's branching out into applications (finance, documents, spreadsheets, calendar, etc.). Google wants to become an application platform. So does Microsoft. So does Facebook. Google and Microsoft have tons of money to develop it, but they're keeping their code proprietary and trying to do it all themselves. Facebook has opened their code to let the public develop it. We'll see who wins. Kevin,
You’re right, you don’t usually think of Google and Facebook in the same sentence. I think the parallels are in: (1) Traffic. The more traffic (of any kind), the more advertising dollars. So they are competing for advertising dollars. (2) But I think the real competition isn’t in their current markets (search and social network)–it’s in what they are trying to grow into–application platforms. Now that Google has huge traffic, it’s branching out into applications (finance, documents, spreadsheets, calendar, etc.). Google wants to become an application platform. So does Microsoft. So does Facebook. Google and Microsoft have tons of money to develop it, but they’re keeping their code proprietary and trying to do it all themselves. Facebook has opened their code to let the public develop it. We’ll see who wins.

]]> By: Kevin http://www.ldsmediatalk.com/2007/07/09/watch-out-google-here-comes-facebook/#comment-4297 Kevin Tue, 10 Jul 2007 15:37:34 +0000 http://www.ldsmediatalk.com/2007/07/09/watch-out-google-here-comes-facebook/#comment-4297 Is Facebook really Google’s biggest competitor? I personally don’t see any competition between the two companies. They are two companies satisfying two completely different internet needs. The only area of competition would be for Internet Advertising and I don’t think the one company is worried about the other stealing its advertising. As I read the article it never really stated why Facebook is a competitor. Honestly, Yahoo or Microsoft would be Google’s biggest competitor. MySpace is Facebooks biggest competitor. Is Facebook really Google’s biggest competitor? I personally don’t see any competition between the two companies. They are two companies satisfying two completely different internet needs. The only area of competition would be for Internet Advertising and I don’t think the one company is worried about the other stealing its advertising. As I read the article it never really stated why Facebook is a competitor. Honestly, Yahoo or Microsoft would be Google’s biggest competitor. MySpace is Facebooks biggest competitor.

]]> By: Steve http://www.ldsmediatalk.com/2007/07/09/watch-out-google-here-comes-facebook/#comment-4270 Steve Mon, 09 Jul 2007 23:46:05 +0000 http://www.ldsmediatalk.com/2007/07/09/watch-out-google-here-comes-facebook/#comment-4270 I'm very interested to see where facebook will take to internet experience. Is this the next phase of the internet's evolution? http://cottrellsteve.blogspot.com/2007/06/evolution-of-portal.html I’m very interested to see where facebook will take to internet experience. Is this the next phase of the internet’s evolution?

http://cottrellsteve.blogspot.com/2007/06/evolution-of-portal.html

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