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

Is Google falling behind in search as it gets ambushed by Facebook and Microsoft?

They have the best algorithm, many of us have made money on their stock on multiple occasions throughout the years, they truly want to make a difference in the world, and they aren't evil - but is the darling of search about to get it's ass kicked?

Social relevancy isn't everything but it sure counts for a lot these days as we struggle through pages of irrelevant search results. As Microsoft's Bing partners with Facebook to deliver a simple and elegant social search solution it becomes clear that we could all use a little help from our friends. I've even started using Ping on iTunes with suprising results.

Now the #2 and fastest growing search engine (Bing) partners with the #1 in social networking to deliver what may end up being the most powerful combination in search. Facebook already counts for more click-throughs than Google when it comes to media links and you can bet that Microsoft is betting that the same strategy will work for them too. The ability to 'Like' a link as well as share or email search finds directly with your friends on Facebook is a huge plus. Zuckerberg was very accurate when he pointed out this morning during the press conference that search UI has not changed in years and Bing has made great strides in evolving this.

Now, I don't like to see anyone fail, and like everyone else, I am a BIG Google fan.  However this is sure to be a big wakeup call for Google to get their Buzz on...and fast.

Microsoft stock is starting to look a whole lot more interesting.

For details on the features that are launching take a look at the links below.

The Bing Social Layer

Social Layer Features

Posted via email from Jared Hendler