Advertising Ourselves to Death

Google vs. Facebook, Let The Battle Rage

What’s your choice, people or computers? Anonymous or friends? Google or Facebook?

There is a growing awareness that the battle of the future isn’t Microsoft vs. Google. Rather it is Google vs. Facebook. And the winner will be determined in large part by how people want to organize, search and interact online.

There are two great synopses of the looming battle, Wired Magazine’s and a report by Forrester’s Jeremiah Owyang. It’s worth taking the time to read them in that order. Wired does a great job of outlining Facebook’s battle plan. Owyang build a very compelling case for a Facebook victory.

If Google seems too big and too dominant to be challenged by something as whimsical as Facebook, then it’s time to think again. Consider the following:

• Facebook has 200 million members, people who use their own names, real email addresses and rich profiles of varying depth. That’s one-fifth of the Internet population.

• Those members spend an average of 20 minutes on the site, DAILY.

Google virtually owns the search world. But what does it know about its members. I have subscribed to almost all Google’s products, but it doesn’t know my real name. Nor does it have a clue what I like to do on weekends, or where my friends live.

There’s even a very strong privacy element in the mix. Search my name on Google and you find out whatever is publicly available. I have no say, nor is there context to what you find. Search my name on Facebook and I have to let you into my network before you learn anything. But, you will get a much richer picture of my life.

In media terms, Google can tell you what I search for, and offer text ads to capture my interest. Facebook can tell you what my interests are, and show me ads based on my lifestyle, demographics and anything else I’ve disclosed.

When I’m online considering a purchase Google can tell me how hundreds of others rate the experience of an online merchant I am considering. Facebook can let me ask hundreds of my friends if any of them have experience with a merchant, online or off line, I am considering.

The Long, Brief History of YouTube

Famous last words:

"You aren't going to turn passive consumers into active trollers on the Internet." -- Stephen Weiswasser, EVP ABC News/President ABC Multimedia.

It's easy to forget that it wasn't very long ago that none of this was possible. In fact, 15 years ago many of us were either in school or blissfully ignorant of the Internet.

So it's all the more stunning to absorb what's been accomplished in so little time. This presentation to the Library of Congress last year is comprehensive (nearly an hour long). But the first few minutes are eye-opening.

Oh yeah, the same guy who blew off the importance of the Internet after a presentation at ABC News, also said it would be the "CB radio of the 90s." Today he's a lawyer at a high-dollar firm in Washington where, according to their web site, "Stephen Weiswasser provides legal and strategic assistance to companies in the rapidly changing media, telecommunications and new media industries."

Bing! The portal is back

Microsoft has ventured into the search engine fray once again, revamping its Live Search and rebranding it Bing. With its vast resources, Microsoft is positioning Bing as a “decision engine” rather than a search engine, trying to convince users that search engines should do more than just deliver a bunch of links.

Clearly Microsoft has technology and marketing clout, but does Bing change the playing field?

Background

For the record, Bing is Microsoft’s third foray into the world of search engines. First, there was MSN search, and then came Live Search. Neither one managed to trump Yahoo! or, later on, Google. So while Microsoft may well be the 800-pound gorilla, its success is by no means certain. Then again, Microsoft has shown repeatedly that it will keep investing in key categories until it gets it right. For reference, take a look at the battle for browser supremacy, banking software and office software.

With billions invested, Microsoft is clearly hoping Bing becomes a verb just as Google has. But the site is about much more than just outdoing Google. The site itself is an attempt to reinvent the search engine experience.Users have gone from the highly organized, click-rich environment of Yahoo! to the sparse simplicity of Google in recent years. Yahoo! attempted to be everything you needed, a portal that gave you everything from search to news, music and more. In recent years, Google has added many features, all geared toward letting users customize their experiences through iGoogle and desktop widgets.

Bing appears to be navigating a path challenging both Yahoo! and Google.