@BasilPuglisi

Content & Strategy, Powered by Factics & AI, Since 2009

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Is Google Plus (G+) the key in the transition to Web 3.0

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A Google account has become the most powerful tool that any entrepreneur or small business owner could ever hope for. While Google’s general public brand has been tied to Search, Google has been building a monopoly that can and will change the shape of business, politics, and education forever. In fact, Google is Web 3.0!

Google has many, many tools and products in its offering, most of which are free! If you have not taken the time to look around I suggest you spend a few minutes and start to familiarize yourself with them, they will save or make you A LOT OF MONEY!!!

Google recently made a few updates, but the top bar has been around for longer than most realize, it is in this bar that Google is writing the book on Web 3.0.

What is it that makes Google such a force? Why is Google Plus or G+ such a big deal?

As seen above, Google has captured the “cloud” era ahead of schedule. Without even looking at the advanced features or Google Apps, one can create and store documents on their google account, set appointments organize and share a calendar, find new information and search for products, solutions, books, or even watch a movie or a how to video.

Social Media has changed the way that people interact and use the web, in fact web 2.0 was all about social media. Websites, software and plug-in updates that allowed people to interact with one another and turned a one directional internet into a multi directional web. In web 2.0 not only can you talk back to the media or information source, you could share it or pass it around. The individual web user could claim the brand of a company for better or worse. Dell had individuals that were not related or employed by the company providing customer support in the forums, and Milton’s Scrabble lost thousands, arguably millions in its brand because two other developers claimed the brand in Facebook.

Web 3.0 has been branded the “cloud” era where information, both public and personal is stored on the world wide web and accessed via data plans, Wifi or traditional cable and dial up. This includes massive files for things like high definition media, entire company databases, etc. This is really not something that is new, just look at how startups like Patch Media use google to simulate a traditional IT infostructure or Saleforce.com to organize track and distribute leads, sales and work. With only one main hub in NYC, Patch Media delivers people and content without traditional overhead in over 800 communities around the United States.

Google Plus bridges the gap between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0

In Google Hangout people interact in a real time public space. Others now have to rethink how they look, speak and the body language or facial features that they use. (The innovative marketers and advertisers will need to think how to get a coke can on the desk during that hangout, how to get a new movie poster on the wall behind that person on the hangout etc.)

Google Hangouts has a game changing advantage for those that know how to present, speak and are truly genuine in public. Users should be aware that this new social tool is a lot like “Larry King Live” and you better be prepared for questions that you may not want to answer.

Google Plus has an A symmetrical sharing system, which means that we can send to others but not get a share in return. G+ from its creation allows users to separate professional and personal lives and even organize beyond the largest separation issue that has plagues social users. This interface along with many other features makes Google Plus the most advanced social media site/tool/software that has ever been created, but all that pales in comparison to why Google is so powerful in web 3.0.

If you are in a space where you are using social in a way that allows you to network and share both your personal life and professional life, what could be better than the Google suite of products? You can share and update documents in real time, video conference, make appointments, develop leads, search out information, shop and buy products, services and so on…

A small business now has an IT Dept. in one place. They can seek out support, generate leads, share reports, organize their schedule, promote their business with video, learn from other videos, advertise in Search, not to mention capture the power of social or viral activity. The digital business can now provide face to face support in a familiar environment something that many still crave.

A teacher or tutor can instruct a class or group from half way around the world, share documents, collect home work in real time. A educator or small college can now reach millions and take online learning into a space that captures the best of brick and mortar with distance learning once only done through text based posts.

A politician can capture and organize moral entrepreneurs, organizations and supporters from an account that brands who they are, what they are doing and interact with them with little or no technical experience or knowledge.

The shift in the world economy has come from millions of individuals competing with large corporations and brands that once held a monopoly on professional marketing, networking and talent. Thanks to a Google account you can now work with the best talent, develop a impressive network and generate a brand that is professional, technologically competitive and organized.

 

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Google Plus: A short Intro to G+

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Vic Gundotra of Google explained that, connection is a “basic human need”. The current online choices in social media did not have enough diversity inside each individual social tool.

Who should be worried about Google+:

  • GoToMeeting
  • Flikr
  • Skype
  • Facebook
  • Microsoft
  • EVERYONE!

Bradley Horowitz, VP Products helped build Google+ explained in an interview for Twit:

Google+ allows individuals to create social networks inside a single social tool to share as you want where you want, when you want. It allows you to not only share via a news feed, but puts you face to face with people via video chat or in “Google Hangouts”.

In the real world people interrupt conversations and the technology in Google Hangouts was developed to recognize that and move the camera, its designed to develop the natural communication we see in real life.

Another innovation in Google Plus is Spark. Spark uses google news and google search to integrated with content that you interested in, it will provide a personal filter for content that is fresh and new to generate conversation. It keeps the discovery and sharing within your circles.

Another Great feature of Google Plus is the instant upload feature for Android. It allows users to automatically upload pictures as you take them on your mobile phone, then when you use G+ its loaded and ready to share if you choose.

Huddles is the mobile version of the platform that allows you to interact in small groups, I hope they add video to this, it would make the mobile video a real userfriendly social option.

Changing Social Interaction on the Web:

In Google Hangout people have to interact in a real time public space, something that others will now have to rethinking. Success will now include how they look, speak and the body language or facial features that they use. Google Hangouts has a game changing advantage for those that do know how to present and speak in public and are truly genuine. Users should be aware that this new social tool is a lot like “Larry King Live” and you better be prepared for questions that you may not want to answer.

Stay Tuned for “What does Google+ Really Mean for Google?”

This is a great video look at Google+ and really starts to get to the culture of Google+ at 44 minutes.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3evAu7WN4Q]

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Google Throws Down the Gauntlet at Facebook in Social Network Struggle

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Google’s last two shots at storming the social networks, Google Buzz and Google Wave, met an early, and not entirely unexpected, demise. However, +1 may contain a few vital elements that make it far less likely to go unnoticed.

Custom Filtering

Being able to filter your contacts into groups and determine who can and cannot see your specific +1 preferences provides users with a bit more privacy than a Facebook ‘Like’ since Facebook currently only offers very basic privacy options, Friends or Everyone.

Huddles and Hangouts

Group instant messaging and multi-users video conferencing could make Google quite the competitor in more than just the social network industry. Users who have long bemoaned some of Skype’s capabilities, or lack of, may find themselves fans of Google Hangouts soon. Huddle can also be used on mobile devices via an app for the Android platform.

Google +1 Limited

The current version of the Google +1 system has only been released to a limited number of users but Google reps have stated that it hopes to make the entire scale of social network options available to the millions of consumers who use many of their other features every day.

Google denies that plus is a competitor with Facebook and emphasizes in so many words that they are not ‘out to get’ Zuckerberg’s social network, but rather focusing on what their users need to ease any element of their digital requirements, one of which has definitely become social networking.

More on Google +1

Google +1 Goes Live with Adwords

Google Search goes social with +1

Trending Companies: Google innovates?

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Google +1 Goes Live with Adwords

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Google Experimental Labs has been testing its +1 feature, similar to a Facebook “Like” for a few months now. For those participating in the experiment, a +1 box at the end of each website’s title on a search engine query display allowed them to give their digital stamp of approval to sites they enjoy.

So far, the Google +1 experiment has fared reasonably well during its beta term. When participating in the experiment any user viewing a search engine query display can see where anyone in their network has given their virtual thumbs up on a site.

Adwords +1

Now however, Google has plans to add the +1 feature to their Adwords advertisements. This means that if your business has an Adwords campaign, any viewing this ad can choose to give it their approval with a +1 click. This also means that anyone in that persons network who sees the same ad, will see that their friend has also given the ad their approval.

How could this be beneficial to your business? If, for instance, you are in the travel business and are using a Google Adwords campaign to advertise your seaside hotel in Florida, and a group of office workers in Illinois are planning a visit to your area, likely many will take to the net.

If office worker A’s daughter took a trip to the same area last year, loved your resort, and gave the Adwords display a +1 click to show her approval, perhaps office worker A, will also give it a click, check into your resorts amenities, and decide upon you for their impending stay.

This worker also likely has their co-workers in their network, so as their co-workers do their own searches, and see your ad, they could see the same ad, +1’d by their trusty co-workers, and now you have several who are on the way to your resort as quickly as they can get there.

+1 Your Landing Page

Business owners will now also want to take advantage of adding the Google +1 option to their landing pages, right next Twitter and Facebook most likely. Adding this will give viewers the ability to +1 your site from the inside, and not just from their displayed search engine results.

This gives those who are fans of your website the ability to share with their friends without intrusive interaction. They will simply be able to see whether or not any of their friends connections would choose your site out of a list of sites, or advertisements, when queried. 

Early critiques attack the need to be logged into a google account to particiapte or see the results, but prticiaption issues exist with facebook too. Even more intereting is that the latest trend in sharing seems to be LinkedIn. While the +1 has done well in the early beta stages, only time will tell how google’s answer to the facebook “like” will playout over time.

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The PR State of Facebook

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In a few days in Silicon Valley there were some rather unusual ideas, stories, and news articles, pitched that insinuated that Google was invading their users’ privacy. PR agency Burson-Marsteller, even offered to assist a highly influential blogger write an Anti-Google op-ed, promising him it would be posted in places like The Huffington Post or The Washington Post.

Not ignorant of their own share of privacy or security shortcomings, they were likely none-too-happy when Burson’s offer fell apart as the blogger turned him down, then publicly posted the emails in which Burton had asked him for assistance in publicly maligning Google. Subsequently, this failure to communicate was compounded as USA Today latched onto the story and accused Burton of launching a “whisper campaign” about Google on the behalf of a client that was unnamed.

In a world of instant coverage on any type of event, those very elements on which Facebook thrives upon, it is quite difficult to understand how anyone at Facebook thought that it would be a remotely good idea, or one that was kept a tight secret. Is this a sure sign that Facebook executives are worried about recent Google social marketing elements such as the +1 system? Will their willingness to execute black hat behaviors cost them enough users to matter? Unlikely, but it has likely done irreparable damage to their reputation, at least for now.

Google?

Since many users may actually have seen or suffered from privacy issues from Google themselves. As usual, in most situations, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle of both sides. The problem is, Google has said very little about the incident and as of yet has made no public comment about the failed campaign. In a way, this could also lend the some weight to the original plan by bringing Google privacy issues even more into the public eye.

The real problem is that now that Facebook has made such an irrational and hasty decision that will likely cause them to suffer from some form of back lash, and any real issues that Google may need to address, could have been brought to light a bit more properly, will fall to the wayside as most publicity outlets and news releases will report it and spin it as the story in which Facebook failed in an underhanded campaign to publicly bash another company.

Love-Hate Relationship

Facebook’s most recent PR plan to smear Google was an embarrassment and failure on more than a public relations scale.

In the internet advertising world, Facebook seems to be on the losing end in effective marketing and product branding. If you monitor Facebook regularly, you know it is not uncommon to see someone ranting, raving, and railing at Facebook for some imagined, or even a realistic slight. A week or two later they are back, having forgiven and forgotten their source of displeasure, or at least enough to continue to use Facebook.

As Facebook has begun to integrate itself into everything from daily deal websites to major retail chain, we have largely come to depend on it as our go-to log-in integration of choice. This is predominately because Facebook integration sites will auto-complete most of the information that will commonly be required to complete a new registration for a website’s products or services. Users would certainly be frustrated and disappointed if Facebooks PR flog affected their Facebook experience.

Will Users Boycott Facebook?

Many groups openly boycott websites that make immoral or illegal decisions. However, just as many points above prove, it would be quite difficult to boycott a large interactive element of our social media usage, most certainly Facebook that so many now use for advertising, entertainment, social network, or even just chatting with long distance relatives.

 Of course there are a few obvious boycotting methods, anything from ceasing to use Facebook, refusal to integrate other programs and remove already integrated applications from your Facebook account, and even simply deleting your account.

PR on Facebook

Facebook has already proven to be an effective method of PR for a few businesses.

  • AT&T
  • Microsoft
  • WordPress
  • Coca-Cola
  • The New York Times

Although likely the best representation of the shortlist, many other smaller businesses have also found great advantage to applying Facebook capabilities for better consumer interaction.

Business Promotion

Facebook has proven a very handy tool in managing membership relationships for fans of your products, or even groups related to your business. This is a very cost effective tool for group, member, or fan management that will allow users to create events calendars, or even just supply other leads and information that could provide additional networking benefits for those same consumers.

Facebook Connect

Adding this handy tool allows users to quickly register with your website by allowing them to approve Facebook integration. This easy option is highly encouraging for those who may not want to spend time filling out many fields, even those who have interest in your brand.

Brand Affinity

One of the most important public relations elements that can be satisfied via Facebook. If you have a product or service that directly, or even indirectly meets a need and connects a user to their Facebook presence. With the text and visuals you have the ability to provide for easy viewing, this can be a great beginning in building the brand awareness that can be invaluable to your business.

 

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Google: Social, Cloud and more

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It seems these days the biggest players in the computer world are raging wars against each other. And this war has the potential of changing the computing world as we know it.

Google wants a share in social media platform and working very hard to create a model that will work. They’ve tried it unsuccessfully with Google Buzz, and scraped the program when it didn’t work. Its newest attempt, called Social Circles, tracks the path Gmail users take through outside networks like Twitter and LinkedIn.

At the beginning of May an e-mail went out to many journalists and bloggers saying: “Google quietly launches sweeping violation of user privacy!”  It whipped the news media into frenzy. According to the e-mail Google was using the little known feature, Social Circles, to “Scape and mine social sites from around the web … and shares that information.” It was traced back to the big PR firm Burson-Marsteller.

When influential privacy blogger Christopher Soghoian was contacted with an offer to help him draft an article about the subject, he wanted to know who is paying the firm for this job.  The PR firm would not divulge the name of its customer. To warn others, Christopher posted that e-mail exchange on his blog instead.

A few days later Facebook admitted to hiring the PR firm to spread rumors about Google’s user privacy. Well, somewhat admitted, anyway. They admitted to wanting to draw attention to that privacy issue, and it wasn’t meant to be a smear campaign. Facebook and the PR company apologized and admitted mistakes (More to come on this tomorrow).

At the world Economic Forum, held in January of this year, Google’s then CEO Eric Schmidt said that Facebook is not the real competitor to Google, but Microsoft.

Whether it had something to do with his replacement is unknown, but finally, two years after Google released its Chrome browser it is about to  launch its first operating system Chrome, threatening the dominance of Microsoft’s Windows.

Google believes that the way the current operating systems work, whether Windows or Mac, is “so 20th century”. Data is stored on the computer’s hard drive, so if it crashes or is stolen, the data disappears with it. When computers break, it is time-consuming and expensive to fix.

For businesses, the expense is even steeper. After spending money on fixing the computers, you end up with an old one with not enough space. It takes backing up and securing against viruses and Trojan horses. Many companies forbid their employees from bringing in thumb-drives for fear of outside viruses getting into the system. The business spends money on IT personal to keep the computers going smoothly. NetApplications, a services firm, says that about 50% of businesses still use Windows XP, a 10 year old operating system. They did not upgrade to Vista or Windows 7.

Google’s solution? A cloud based operating system called Chrome OS which is about to be unveil on June 15.

Everything will be on the server, not on the desktop. No need for a huge hard drive to store information, no need to back anything up. All a user will have to have is a way to connect to the server.

About 20 years ago Oracle CEO Larry Ellison predicted that a “thin client”, a user without a hard drive, would be the future of business computing. There is finally a serious attempt to do that.

The server will be accessible immediately, no waiting time for booting and updating. The business can be accessed from anywhere in the world, from any computer that runs this operating system.

But Google went a step further and changed the business model as well; for the first time Google is providing both the operating system and the computer (the hardware) in a package deal. For $28 a month ($20 only for government and schools) companies can rent a 3G “Chromebook” from Google and get support, all the programs, and exchange and upgrade the equipment. No need to buy computers or programs, no need for an IT department. “We think this can fundamentally change the way people use computing in companies.” Says Sundar Pichai, Google’s SVP for Chrome.

Google partnered with Samsung and Acer to build the hardware. Different kinds of laptops will be available in June. Thin, light, without a hard drive, for the price of a tablet ($300 – $500).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVqe8ieqz10&feature=player_embedded]

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How Online Customer Preferences and Feedback Has Changed

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It has only been a couple of years since integrated log-ins began to creep into our everyday tasks online. Although it began on a smaller scale, such as the 2008 integration of Yahoo and Google ID’s with Zoho, from this small test in integration preferences, an entirely new beast grew.

Logging in via third party is no longer a delightful surprise in most cases, indeed, the lack of integrated log in can actually deter visitors from signing up, or logging into your site, especially when there are like options elsewhere that have the nifty one-click integration option. This type of log in integration is referred to as a type of social log-in service. Although Google came out strongly by quickly adding early integration for all of their available applications, it seems that the wind in Google’s social log-in services sails may have shifted.

Facebook Takes the Lead

Janrain, a web company that tracks social web data, states that since the first time they began reporting on these statistics in January 2010, Google has been overtaken. During the first quarter of 2011, 35% of users chose to use Facebook as a log-in option over all others. In the last quarter of 2010, the number hung around 27%.

However, this may not be indicative of overall users. When given the option on 350,000 different sites, users will choose not to integrate their Facebook account, but will choose other methods, or manual log-in instead, at a rate of 65%.

How is This Changing the Consumer Voice for Business

It may be difficult to determine who benefits the most, even though this new aspect of social media marketing seems to have perks for all. Social log-ins are appealing to businesses as they can help to personalize content, interactions, and brand awareness. Social log-ins are an attractive option for users who seem to love the feel of interacting with those of whom they make regular, or significant purchases from.

While Urban city guide sites like Yelp give consumers the ability to review products or services of any company on site, it seems most users these days prefer to simply Facebook ‘Like’ a fan page to show their loyalty to brands they enjoy, as well as to gain benefit by keeping more up-to-date on sales, or enjoy social chatter on the latest in the industry.

A recent study showed that while 20% of people claim they prefer to click a Facebook Fan pages ‘Like’ button to show their preference for local businesses, only 13% report being willing to write a review for the same business.

Turning the Tide

Although this may indeed turn the tide a bit on how users will begin to review local businesses, this is certainly not now nor likely to be the end all spot to find all of the pertinent information that users may be searching for.

The same study also showed that 52% of adult users under 35 will still check three or more websites when researching products or services locally or online. The main site still searched is Google at 63%.

At this point, the type of business will still rank high on the users list of what sites need to be searched. While those considering larger purchases may prefer the interaction that Facebook provides, users who may just want to check out how good a restaurants’ dishes are may still prefer the detailed review style of Yelp.

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Small Business Solutions: YellowBot

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YellowBot.com, a company formed in 2006 by Erron Silverstein out of Burbank, CA., aims to connect local businesses with local shoppers. It is a form of free advertisement businesses might want to look into.

Not only can potential customers find businesses in their area, they can read customers’ feedbacks and experiences. It is a peer referral information site, that some say is a combination of Yellow Pages and Yelp.

Their idea is as follows: Let’s not forget, with all the technological advancements, that we still live in the real world. That is where our homes are, where we work and where we shop. Dry cleaner, Veterinarian, car mechanic, smog check station – we want all those to be as close to one another as possible so we can save time. The site helps you pull it all together and share it with the world. When there are enough stories about a place, a clearer picture of the business emerges.

The site is free for searchers and businesses, and it joins a crowded field of similar local web portals, but offers elegant and quick search features and enables the use of Google maps and driving directions. The site has a mobile version as well, so no information has to be written down, the address is on your phone. They have forums oir ideas, announcements and discussions.

There were rumors in May 2010 that they are about to launch a Reputation Tool. Except for one blogger who posted an article about it (including screen shots) there is not much information. They do not mention the Tool on their website and their blog went dormant in June 2010.

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Demand Studios and the Impact from Google’s Algorithm Change

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There seems to be some serious back-and-forth about the state of Demand Studios since the Google algorithm alteration. Initial impact indicated that they may have lost ground on the search driven traffic of some of their sites. Citing eHow.com as one of the locations where the change may have triggered a down-turn, Demand Studios initial statement indeed, indicated that even they knew that the new algorithm may have relatively lasting impact on their page views.

Demand Relies on SEO

Demand Media does rely heavily on search engine optimization to boost traffic to their content which is created by over 13,000 freelancers worldwide. So Google’s announcement that its change would impact almost 12 percent of search engine queries, was definitely destined to negatively affect Demands current page views by sheer numbers alone.

With sites like eHow being a large part of their company’s content, often ranking high on search engine queries before the change, and afterwards, there can be little doubt that the effect was in fact, a minor one for them. However, falling stock values are also a cause for concern for Demand. Some searches even provide Demand Studios content ranking higher than before the change.

Google Panda

Continued updates, codenamed Panda, have provided a different viewpoint altogether. Just over a week ago Google enacted the Pandora update worldwide. This time stating that two percent of Google queries in the U.S. would be affected.

Sistrix, a site that had previously released the results of impact on content farms after the first update, also released new information on the Panda change and how it has definitely affected the page views of eHow content. Although in general, the second update was not as search engine query altering as the second, or Panda update, it did land on eHow this time, even though it is rumored that it was actually one of the targets of the first update in February 2011.

Demand Demands Acknowledgement

While admitting a slight decline in search engine traffic on eHow sites due to the recent changed, Demand still insists that the Sistrix numbers are way off. Citing a predicted 2/3rds decline in eHow traffic, Demand reps responded that the numbers were greatly so grossly overstated that they must comment.

Demand CEO Richard Rosenblatt shared with MediaMemo that the relationship it shared with Google was a highly valued and mutually generous one.

They stated their relationship with Google made much sense for many reasons.

  • That they help to fill gaps in Google’s content when other high quality content is not available.
  • That they are the largest suppliers of YouTube videos.
  • That they are a huge Google Adsense partner.

Stating that the current losses are projected to cause them to suffer around 10 million dollars in lost revenue, they are assured that with projected sales this year reaching around $311 million, they do not consider it a substantial, nor a 2/3rds percent loss.

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Did Google Panda Change the Playing Field?

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From time to time, when Google identifies a ‘gaming’ of their search engine results, its engineers open up the algorithms and tweak them, sending shudders in the world of e commerce and Internet advertising. Speculations run rampart until Google launches it to the world.

One such tweak happened lately; in February 2011, Google launched such a change and named it Panda. They called the tweak “A High Quality Sites Algorithms”. It came in reaction to what they call “Content Farms” and the blogosphere immediately filled in the name of one of the biggest player – Demand Media, who was gaining top listings with copied content.

In order to cut on the clutter of results you get from a query, Google is trying to root out the low quality sites either by checking content, enabling users (through a Chrome extension) to block sites from their searches, or by lowering the ranking of copies material. “The net effect is that searchers are more likely to see the sites that wrote the original content rather than a site that scraped or copied the original site’s content.” Said Google’s Matt Cutts.

This changed impacted US sites only until April 11, 2011, when Google rolled this change to all English language queries and made a few changes. Their statistics show the change has impacted 12% of the queries in the United States. Most impacted were Mahalo.com, Wisegeek.com followed by Ezinearticles.com, Hubpages.com, Suite101.com, Superpages.com and spike.com. The gainers were news sources like Reuters.com, LATimes.com, CBSnews.com and information sites like Techcrunch.com, Blogpost.com, Mashable.com and even YouTube.

The new adjustment was meant to take care of a gap in their program that enables a site like eHow.com not only slide down but gain in ranking. Demand Media, the owner of eHow, was immediately impacted.

Some small businesses might have seen a change in their ranking. Google is said to be open to complaints that will be implemented, if found correct.

Online Publisher Association estimated that $1 Billion will be redistributed across the online publishing industry as a result of this change.

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