Saturday, January 8, 2011

Goolge ID vs Facebook ID

Simply put, facebook is nothing else but a collaboration platform for friends. It builds a network of friends to share media and collaborate upon it. The media that friends collaborate on are pictures, video, postings (News Feed), links (Likes), messages, contacts, events, games, etc.

Now, a facebook account gives users the ability to identify themselves to web sites and that is the topic of this article.

Some efforts to integrate all communications into one platform are already in the works:
  • AOL is looking to incorporate a multiple platform control panel and unified profile.
  • Facebook gives you an email address to identify yourself with your Facebook profile. Facebook Messaging System incorporates all communications in one inbox.
  • Google gives you a somewhat friendly URL to identify yourself with your Google profile. Google has to integrate all its services in one communication and collaboration platform.



My 2011 wish No. 1:
Dear Google,
Make google profiles a one stop communication and collaboration platform and I will surrender my web ID to you. Hell, I even will dump my facebook all together if I only have to log in once to have all my communication channels and collaboration tools in one place.

Well, probably facebook has a place when it comes to casual networking for many (1/2 Billion many). But then again many people is realizing that something better is needed to network more professionally. Friends are one thing, business is a way different animal.


Your options for a web IDso far:
Facebook offer: You@facebook.com
AOL offer: About.Me/You
Google offer so far: google.com/profiles/You

What google could offer:
Google Me: google.me/You

Sub domain: You.google.me

gg URL(gg stands for google): You.gg
or if you have a web page (gg.Yourpage.com) or (Youpage.com/gg)

gp URL (gp stands for google profile or google page): You.gp
or if you have a web page (gp.Yourpage.com) or (Yourpage.com/gp)


The Great Goal
Create value, a web ID that is worth enough to use it not only online but to make it an offline piece of information. So worth it that it can be printed on business cards and even substitute all the other information about a contact since it will be contained in it. Thus, the only information you will ever need from a contact is his or her google profile ID to get all the rest, with the consent from the contact that is (privacy settings to access to information).
Imagine a business card with only one piece of information: your google ID

You.gp

Why? Because the google ID would be a one stop place to get info about you and to communicate and collaborate with you.

If I am a total stranger visiting your google page the first thing I will have to do is to identify myself. If I have a google account I only have to sign in but if I don’t have a google account then I will have to give my email and basic info to get into your google page (meanwhile I also created a google account just to visit your page, imagine the potential for new google accounts).


For a Company
The same scenario can be true for a company even though facebook has a head and probably a whole body start when it comes to company profiles. But there is still place for improvement since it also applies the problem that facebook it’s getting crowded with waste information.

Company options for a web IDso far:
Facebook offer: Company@facebook.com
AOL offer: About.Me/Company
Google offer so far: google.com/profiles/Company

What google could offer:
Google Me: google.me/Company

Sub domain: Company.google.me

gg URL(gg stands for google): Company.gg
or as company options (gg.Company.com) or (Company.com/gg)

gp URL (gp stands for google profile or google page): Company.gp
or as company options (gp.Company.com) or (Company.com/gp)


Now, this can be already done with a facebook account, right? … Wrong my friend. Why? Because again; friends are one thing (Social Network) and business (Professional Network) is a way different animal.

So, if I want to get to know you casually I would chose to browse you facebook account but if what I want is to do business with you, then I would prefer a way more professional network like LinkedIn. But LinkedIn is missing a lot of features that a collaboration platform like facebook has already get us used to have.

Imagine if you had a google profile page with a neat and friendly URL where I can communicate and collaborate with you, professionally that is. Meaning no more social waste that facebook is full of.

Since your google profile page is a one stop communication and collaboration platform you could manage all your accounts from there: social networks, messaging, texting, email, phone calls, voicemail, documents, calendars, rss subscriptions, pictures, videos, music, etc, etc, etc... you name it.


The Real Social Network
Another major characteristic of such google collaboration platform would be the ability to control access by group an by individual, meaning granular privacy options. Like in a collaboration software where I can separate individuals or groups of people by groups (work spaces) and collaborate with them in a closed way. That means no possible combination of things that one group of people from my network can see but not another group.
The granular privacy controls settings should include the ability to set passwords to access groups (workspaces) and to access specific information an areas of the profile just like any company website has certain restricted areas, pages or media only accessible by password.

Facebook made a move in this area with the creation of facebook groups but it did so a little bit late. After a googler presented a work on the matter and then headed to facebook if the news are right.

But google can do a way better work and, if done correctly, then people may find the google collaboration platform so useful to integrate all communications that it can substitute facebook all together. Why? Because if you can successfully separate your casual (Social Network) from your business (Professional Network) and manage everything from a single account, then why the need for another account that is getting so obnoxiously full of garbage like the ol’ MySpace story.


The Universal Web ID
Having a google profile account that gives you a one piece data to share as your contact info (Neat and frienly google profile URL) and works as a universal all including communication and collaboration platform would mean for you and your contacts a one stop to engage in casual (Social) and/or business (Professional) networking. Having the ability to manage your network by group and individual granular access to your page (with the option for passwords)... priceless. Having all that with the quality of the google products (way better than facebook ones)...well my friend, that would be in all a facebook killer!

If such google dream come true, even facebook would have to surrender and be part of this universal and all inclusive one stop communication and collaboration platform. We would witness something like MySpace surrendering to facebook ID.


Google vs Facebook
So, one more time. Let’s compare facebook products against google ones to see just which company is able to build a better communication and collaboration platform, the one that will be the web ID of choice in the future because it will be all inclusive and universal:
  1. Facebook “Social” Inbox vs Google Gmail
  2. Facebook SMS integration vs Google Voice
  3. Facebook Chat (No Video) vs Google Talk
  4. Facebook Places vs Google Maps
  5. Facebook News Feed vs Google Wave
  6. Facebook Updates vs Google Buzz
  7. Facebook Profile vs Google Profile
  8. Facebook Groups vs Ups! (Google get to work!)
  9. Youtube
  10. Blogger
  11. Docs
  12. Reader
  13. Android
  14. Chrome
  15. Google TV
  16. Postini, secured communications
  17. Feedburner
  18. Picasa
  19. Calendar
  20. Translate
  21. Sites
  22. Checkout
  23. Groups
  24. Real Time
  25. Earth
  26. ...etc ( and by this I mean etc, etc, etc.)



For a little more details of an hypothetical google collaboration platform you may want to read this articles:

Facebook “Social” waste vs Google “Professional” network
HOW google can defeat the new facebook messaging system

Angel Bookmarks


Related articles:


http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/02/google-plus-one-brin/