SocialNetwork.com

Congratulations to Google on launch of Google +

First, I’d like to congratulate Google on the launch of Google +.  I am sure that many, many engineers there worked very hard on it, and I have to say, I think they’ve done a wonderful job.  

Some people are asking me, as CEO of SocialNetwork.com, how do I feel about it? Did Google just eat my lunch?

Maybe, its a little too early to tell.  I think some of the things we’re rolling out are better.  I also think their work validates a lot of ideas we had.  For example, a big part of the new system is the Social Circles feature.  As you may have noticed, our logo on the site has been social circles for many years now:

These circles, as shown on our home page, represent your friendships, romantic relationships, and business relationships, that all come together to define your life experience.

I think its great that people will be more aware of this concept.

On the one hand, its bad for SocialNetwork.com to have another major social network competitor.  But, lets face it, we were already way behind Facebook in terms of numbers of enrolled users so not that much has changed there.  

There may also be many positives for us.  

1. It makes people aware that there are many good alternatives to Facebook.  Opening people’s minds to more possibilities is good for us.

2. Google lets people export your data.  That means that its going to reduce the barriers for users who want to migrate off of Facebook, and even off of Google +.  For those who want to use SocialNetwork.com instead, or IN ADDITION TO  Google +, it will be easier for them.

3. It makes people ask the question, WHY use something other than Facebook. What’s really interesting, is that the big answer to that right now seems to be BECAUSE it’s not Facebook.  I think to a large extent Facebook users have felt hostage.  Now they’re really going to have to decide to use Facebook, and explaining why to use Facebook instead of Google + or SNDC is even harder than explaining why you should use SNDC or Google + instead (or in addition to).

Finally, I think that since “Because it’s not Facebook”, as a reason to migrate, is also a compelling reason to go to SNDC…. “Because SNDC is not Facebook or Google.”.