This has been the longest time coming. We first heard about Google’s planned social network, then dubbed Google Me it more than a year ago and now Google has finally unveiled its social networking answer to Facebook called the Google+ project. It brings together a number of different Google tools in one place and it looks very much like Facebook. That tells you most of what you need to know.

Google + offers essentially the same services as Facebook except on the open web. That and, of course, there are very few people using it. That might change. Giving Google credit, Google + does take steps forward in that it allows you to take a slightly more selective approach to social networking in that it recognises that not all “relationships are created equal” and that not all social networking needs to be universal in nature. Read More »

This week Facebook launched their new stand-alone community site aimed at creative’s – the Facebook Studio.

The site is aimed at ad agency creative’s and offers a forum where they can share ideas, comment on campaigns and learn more about what it takes to create a successful brand page. Interestingly this page comes shortly after the launch of the journalists on Facebook page, which is aimed at build relationships with reporters and news organizations. Read More »

That took it long enough. Google co-founder Larry Page has named the web giant’s first head of social media as part of a management shuffle of senior executives.

Page has named Vic Gundotra, vice-president of engineering, as Google’s  senior vice-president of social and made social a priority across the company. Read More »

Is Google Me, Google’s long talked of and much delayed social network, finally about to launch? Could be. Google has given another hint that this might be about to happen as it announces tweaks to Google Social Search.

Google Social Search will now give far more prominence to social results. And for the first time allow people to pull in links from other social networks and link their various social networks (save Facebook) together. It all sounds very much like social media glue that Google would need to underpin a social network of its own. Read More »

The web is awash this morning with talk that Twitter could be sold. It is said to be in talks with both Facebook and Google. Not just those two, but others as well. Who else? Maybe Microsoft.

The talks have given loss making Twitter an estimated valuation of $8bn to $10bn. That is a huge price tag for a loss making business, but the prize could be huge too. The challenge is huge but the pitfalls are there too. Read More »

It is being reported that Go0gle’s planned social networking initiative Google Me is to be delayed until the Spring of next year.

It had been expected that Google Me would have been unveiled before the end of the year and in September Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that its much talked of social networking plans would be unveiled in the autumn. Read More »

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said that its much talked of social networking plans, widely dubbed “Google Me”, will be unveiled later this autumn, but the suggestion that it has a Facebook killer in the works appears wide of the mark.

Read More »

Despite all the hype and Google’s changing logos this week the launch last night was not Google Me, but something called Google Instant: the ability to search and get results before you type. It is Google says “smarter and faster search that is interactive, predictive and powerful” and it will save you time and possibly boost ad performance. Read More »

Google’s homepage logo has changed again, for the second time in 24 hours, like the rumblings preceding a seismic shift. Could the search giant be about to launch its much-anticipated social networking service, Google Me?

Read More »

You can bet that Google won’t be repeating this when it launches its planned Facebook challenging social network, possibly called Google Me as it pays out $8.5m to settle a class action privacy case stemming from the launch of Google Buzz.

Clearly this is not about the money, the amount is chump change to the search firm, but it does underscore how badly thought out the launch of flop Google Buzz was. Read More »