Techcrunch, PC World, and several other websites have been reporting that this news broke on Twitter when Digg CEO Kevin Rose stated, "Ok, umm, huge rumor: Google to launch facebook competitor very soon "Google Me", very credible source."
That definitely sparked interest in the topic. Apparently Google has had this project in the works for awhile, suspecting that eventually Facebook's growth and fanbase would die down. But guess what? It hasn't. Oh snap!
At 500 million strong, Facebook has got the market locked up. So if these rumors of a possible contender are true, it would certainly be a David and Goliath kind of tale. Furthermore, as the article points out it will probably take a lot to get Facebook users to switch to another provider after they've invested so much in Facebook. Google Me will likely have to target those that aren't on social networks yet to build up a fan base. And Google's other past forays into the social media world haven't proved as viral as they assumed they'd be (Ex: Google Wave, Buzz, Orkut).
For my part I know that it's very unlikely for me to ever switch from Facebook. For one thing all my friends use Facebook and the whole point of a social network is to connect with friends. So unless there is a mass exodus from Facebook to Google Me, then I'm thinking it's not worth my time (assuming of course that these rumors are true). Not to mention all the photos and other content that I've spent time putting on my Facebook profile.
But who knows? Maybe Facebook will pull something dumb and upset a lot of people. Then there could be Google Me standing by in the wings with open arms. And frankly, that's where the advantage lies. Up until now when Facebook does something stupid (i.e. changing privacy policies) that elicits outrage, people can voice their opinions and protest, but they're unlikely to actually leave because there are no other better alternatives. Google Me could be that sole competitor to reach out to disgruntled Facebook users. Hmm well there's some food for though!
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