With rumors of the search engine king launching a social network (dubbed Google Me), many in the geek-o-sphere have been pondering what features Google will add in order to challenge the mighty Facebook.
Google is already busy conducting studies to see how people interact with social networks (online as well as off), which the company hopes will help them build an intuitive social network without overwhelming the end user.
But if Google wants to challenge Facebook for social supremacy, they may have to deal with Steve Jobs who may not welcome the search engine’s entrance upon their beloved iDevice.
Of Facebook’s 500 million users, approximately 1 in 5 access the social network through a mobile device who are (not surprisingly) some of Facebook’s most passionate users.
With the iPhone outselling Android handsets (thanks in part to FaceTime and Apple’s Retina Display), Google will probably have to create an official iPhone app if they desire to counter Facebook’s attempts at becoming the pulse of the planet.
Even though Google could just simply create a web app for iFans (similar to what they did with YouTube), users may not appreciate the service as much due to the inability to upload images and videos from the Safari mobile browser.
Whether or not Apple approves an official Google Me app is another story (as Apple is not exactly in love with the search engine company).
But if Google wants to dethrone Facebook as the social networking king, they will have to appease the wrath of Steve Jobs and find some way of launching their app inside the “iVerse.”
Originally posted on July 28, 2010 @ 3:40 pm
Or they could just bypass the whole iOS problem by making an HTML5 web app that runs on all platforms like they have been doing with most of their apps. They don’t even have a Google Buzz app for Android (a widget, but not a full out app). They made that a Web app only for all smartphones with HTML5 support to use. Since most smartphones are going to be getting HTML5 web browsers in the near future if they don’t already, its the smartest way to go, especially for a social networking app. I hate the facebook apps, and most people think the same as me on that. They’re useful for some things, but overall, their mobile website is better, though it could use some updates. If Google does launch Google Me, I expect most people will access it through the browser, regardless of whether there is an app or not. Plus, Google will probably have open protocols in place, so anyone could make their own Google Me app, saving Google the trouble, just like what’s happened with Google Buzz.