Prediction: Facebook or Twitter to buy Katango within 3-6 months...

With the rise of Google+ and your ability to sort your friends into as many categories (circles) as you would like, it's the ultimate privacy setting as you can elect who sees what on a post by post basis! How are Facebook and Twitter to compete? Of course you can already sort your friends inside of Facebook, but the usability of this feature is buried and involves a maddening process. Twitter does not have this feature at all! Not to mention that this type of activity is easily embarked upon at the start of building your network as opposed to having to go back and group hundreds of friends after-the-fact...who has the time for that?!

Enter Katango. Via Facebook connect, Facebook friends are automatically grouped based upon not just your relationship to them, but based upon all communications between linked friends - along with Katango's secret sauce. I was a sceptic at first, but I was amazed at the accuracy and 'magic' of how fast the application was able to group my friends. Facebook or Twitter simpy have to buy this company if the have any hopes of competing with the privacy and usability of Google+'s 'circles'.

Katango, I am sold. It's a no - brainer. Can you help me to automatically do the same for Google+?

 

Posted via email from Jared Hendler

Watch as GooglePlus becomes the place for Brands.

In the early days, there is no shortage of conjecture. Remember how Facebook, Twitter and MySpace started? They were very different early on. Some say Google+ is more of a threat to Twitter than Facebook....and maybe Tumblr too. Given the power of the Google brand Google+ has had an astounding rate of adoption - but those that are joining are the early adopters, the media...the tech savvy...and believe it or not, Brands too.

This never happened at Facebook. Brands tip-toed in. Damned if they did, damned if they did not. With Google+ they have marched in the door from day 1 and Google is bending over backwards to make a place for them. It took both Facebook and Twitter forever (web-time) to make a plan for Brands. At it's core, Google's revenue stream is from Brand advertisers. Google has little interest in privacy and has always been an advocate of openness.

But you still need community - and lots of it. With 10MM users to date, Google is well on it's way and the influencers and news organizations whom have flooded this early on will draw the average consumer...who doesn't have a gmail account?!

Google+ also has the feature set that will appeal to Brands:

No 140 character post limit! Perfect for brands, with the type of engagement features that Twitter lacks.

Hangouts are also the perfect place for Brands to engage with members of the media and consumer influencers. The perfect focus group - a virtual test kitchen at practically no cost.

Not to mention Sparks, the perfect place for folks to list the things they like...and the perfect place for Google to serve up Brand related to our interests.

But Google+ is deafening. Not a place I feel like I want to collect my friends. Even the power of carefully curated circles cannot drown out the noise and focus the conversation. I'm exhausted already!

Google+ won't kill Twitter, nor will it kill Facebook or Tumblr, but it may just become the primary home for Brands, News Organizations and Publishers. The place to kickoff each press release and the definitive place to engage.

Posted via email from Jared Hendler