The social media war: Giant vs. Giant

Google, the heavy weight champ of internet search, is rumored to be stepping into the ring with Facebook to challenge their reign as social media champions. A recent NY Times article titled “Google Develops a Facebook Rival” discusses Google’s top-secret project called Google Me and their latest effort to penetrate the multi-million dollar social media industry.

To me the name Google is synonymous with success. They continuously achieve their corporate goals while pushing the boundaries of innovation. Their corporate philosophies are the envy of many in the technology sector and their products have become staples of our everyday life. However, for some strange reason, Google’s been unsuccessful at entering the social media industry and it’s not due to their lack of trying.

You may remember a few of Google’s previous attempts to dethrone Facebook (or maybe you don’t). Most recently was Google Buzz, the supposed Facebook killer that came out with a lot of bark but no bite. Before this was Orkurt, a social media site that never gained popularity in North America or Europe. Also, Google had their Friend Connect and Google Wave that were both heavily anticipated attempts to beat Facebook but never lived up to their initial hype.

This leads me to two questions. Why does Google continue to spend billions in this social media battle?  Secondly, what will be different with Google Me that could persuade people to leave Facebook? To answer the first question let’s take a look at some numbers. Facebook recently announced it passed 500 million members (a startling 1 in 10 people on earth) and in 2009 they reportedly earned a whopping $800 million (and they’ve grown exponentially since). Therefore,  Google’s current list of users and their expertise in advertizing transfers well to social media and will surely be another gold mine for the company.  Also, Facebook has pushed their IPO back until 2012 giving Google Me some much needed time to gain market share before they go public. The second question is more difficult to answer as Google rarely gives insight into their bag of tricks.

Their only hint about Google Me is they’ve recently purchased 4 online gaming companies that will probably be added to the platform. Online gaming is very popular on social media sites as these simple (and fun) games allow people to play with friends in their networks. Social gaming was a $700 million market in 2009 and analysts believe the market will triple by 2012.  Sure, this sounds pretty cool but is that all Google Me has to offer?

I understand why Google continues to battle Facebook for social media supremacy but nothing I’ve heard about Google Me seems overly innovative or ground-breaking.  This giant versus giant battle is very inspiring but I question if online gaming will be the secret formula that Google Me needs to finally triumph over Facebook. Their previous attempts were miserable, unGoogle-like, and probably quite humbling for the company. However, they continue to get up and fight another round. Will this be another humiliating defeat for Google? Only time will tell….

Bloomberg & Baseball

A recent article in the New York Times titled “Bloomberg Technology Embraces Baseball” has left me astonished, perplexed and really in a state of confusion. Bloomberg, best known for its around the clock financial news terminals, has stepped into the world of sports and developed software to analyze baseball player stats. Come again? Really? Baseball stats? Astonished and confused come to mind considering I spend half my life in front of a Bloomberg terminal and the other half watching, eating, and breathing baseball.

My astonishment comes from my perception of Bloomberg and its global powerhouse profile. The last article I read on the company was how its business strategy is to “Rule the World” or at least in terms of world of business news. Bloomberg L.P. has approx. 280,000 customers subscribing to its financial news and data terminals and the vast majority of its estimated $6.3 billion in revenue is derived from these terminals. Why would Bloomberg even bother investing time and energy by plunging into the world of baseball?

My confusion comes from the math behind this baseball venture. If my numbers are correct and Bloomberg signs all 30 teams for their service (for say $50,000 each) it would bring in $1.5 million annually.  Wouldn’t this be considered small change for Bloomberg? Why try something completely new with such a small return? What really didn’t compute was Daniel L. Doctoroff’s (Bloomberg’s President) quote about this new endeavour: “Not everything we do has to be huge.” Really? Does this fall into your modest strategy of global domination?

Don’t get me wrong. I’ll be the first person to sign up for Bloomberg’s baseball software if they extend the invite  to the public. But is this a natural extension of Bloomberg? I’m sure that they only made a relatively small initial investment into this project, but do they hope to seek a return beyond baseball? Do they plan to expand and develop software for teams and leagues around the world? Of course they do! May as well aim to “Rule the World” of sports news and data too.

Bloomberg has always been doing the counter intuitive with all its endeavors. They are world leaders in technological research and even though this release seems to be out of the norm for them I fully support this venture in all its shapes and forms.

If you’d like to read the original article from the New York Times, click here.