Contributing Editor of WIRED Magazine, Fred Vogelstein, wrote an article entitled, "Great Wall of Facebook: The Social Network's Plan to Dominate the Internet - and Keep Google Out" which has changed how I visualize the inner workings of 'The Internets.'
I've joked with friends, roommates and colleagues for at least the past year about Google taking over the world, and with most it seemed like a very casual known fact. As if we all knew at some level how much power and money Google has, especially after Google became a verb for search.
"When is Memorial Day this year?"
"I don't know. Google it."
Specific social media sites like Facebook and MySpace on the otherhand, always seemed incomparable from Google in my mind. Almost regional (social media) vs. global (Google). Apparently, Facebook is not the underdog, and is going head-to-head with Google.
"Today, the Google-Facebook rivalry isn't just going strong, it has evolved into a full-blown battle over the future of the Internet—its structure, design, and utility."In the linked article above, Vogelstein challenges my mental image of the Internet and creates not just one circle with the word "Internet" written in the middle, but maybe two - Facebook as the second Internet.
"It was, potentially, an enormous source of personal data. Internet users behaved differently on Facebook than anywhere else online: They used their real names, connected with their real friends, linked to their real email addresses, and shared their real thoughts, tastes, and news. Google, on the other hand, knew relatively little about most of its users other than their search histories and some browsing activity."Throughout the article, Larry Page (Google) is burned and also praised because of his business moves, and Mark Zukerberg (Facebook) is called-out of for his age (25) and once famous business cards that read "I'm CEO... B*%@H." The negatives of each are stated... Google having access to only public information, and Facebook having heaps of information that they can't capitalize on. Overall, a great recap of their past battles together and separate, and the ones that are undoubtedly to come.
-Jacq (@jacqsmith)
