Looks like Facebook has some new competition. Google, previously known as a just a “search engine,” has expanded its dominion into social networking service.
The expansion, announced on Nov. 7, 2011, is the latest feature on the Google Plus service to imitate what’s already available on Facebook.
Google Plus was unveiled in June by Google Inc. to counter Facebook’s popularity. The owners of Google wanted to learn more about people’s interests, thus the “auto-fill” space bar was born. Google hoped to gain insight that would help its search algorithm find more relevant and compelling results, which would in theory keep people coming back to click on ads.
Until now, Plus was limited to individual use. Google says more than 40 million people have Plus profiles. Facebook has more than 800 million users.
Now, companies, celebrities, and sports teams will be able to set up Google Plus pages just as they can on Facebook. Google showcased the new Plus feature on Monday with pages from 20 business, celebrities and sports teams. The initial list includes Toyota, the Muppets, the Dallas Cowboys, Pepsi and the pop music group Train.
“I can’t really see Google Plus growing to the same extreme as Facebook for social networking,” said junior English major Paula Senft. “It’s a great tool they’ve created, and I can see it being extremely useful for companies and brands, but I would be really surprised if all of a sudden 800 million people on Facebook switched to Google Plus.”
The Inc.com social media website says the top four reasons to create a Google Plus account for businesses are: “Because it will boost your SEO; Because your message will have a longer shelf- life”; “Because it will be the social network for businesses,” and, “Because it’s just easier to deal with.”
The website also says that Google Plus has “cannibalized” the best parts of Facebook and Twitter, which adds to the appeal of Plus.
Freshman business major Brian Easton said, “You know what, I can really see this taking off for businesses and sports teams. It’s another place to go for information you need quickly.”