I was completely blown off my chair when I searched on Google for Facebook, Barak Obama came up as #2. I was even more surprized when I searched on Google for Twitter Barak Obama came up #2 again. It is amazing on the ability to embrace SEO for common social media products and services such that a single participant can get such powerful results. I wonder how these links will continue to remain in that position, but are we dealing with pure link-matching here?

Barak Obama and facebook SEO

So when we think of mobile marketing and facebook, Barak Obama comes out ahead of Facebook’s mobile service, Facebook News, Facebook in Wikipedia.

As I have been an early adaptor for just about anything mobile, when Google launched this new product, http://www.google.com/latitude [PCWorld] I thought about giving it a try.  For me, I have always felt in control with Facebook and others, and when it is about user opt-in and control- that is my motto.

I slept on it, and decided to go for it and install Google-Latitude.  As it installed, it gulped my contact book in my Google Gmail account and before I knew it, many friends and not so close friends were getting pinged left and right with the invitation. I felt in control, but the ease with which it spreads is a bit nerve racking.  Once they were invited, I kind of asked myself- this is a bit creepy, is it not, even my picture is a bit strange the way they show it.

Before, i knew it, I was getting acceptances from a variety of different people and the application was now in action. What I found interesting is that it only just tells you where your friends are?

I have not found the real value in an application that just tells you where your friends are with such precision.

For me, I have started to become an active user of Facebook’s instant messaging presence application. What is so powerful is to know that certain people are now online and I can have a quick chat with them. There are many of my friends that are just as busy as I am, and they are hard to reach in real time with email. However, with this app on facebook, we are connected when we are both in that mind-frame to connect ( why else would be be looking at Facebook to begin with?).   However, with Google latitude, I can see where my friends are now but can not connect.  This is where I see the total flaw in this application.  If you are going to launch a social media application where you can connect with friends, there needs to be the ability to connect with those friends…… not just follow them around like a stalker.

Why did they not include GTalk or somekind on IM capabilities in the application? Why is only a reference and directions to getting to your friends?

The other question I ask, is why now at this time and on many devices ( my Nokia E71) but not on Android yet? I guess they are just testing the market.

As Google has been a platform company where many companies have been building thier own mash-ups on top of the Google API, why go head-to-head withthe many of the companies that already have social media applications that use a similar methodology? Take Loopt for instance?  The were one of the first true Social Compasses.  Is Google trying to disintermediate  Loopt? http://www.loopt.com

When I tried to download Loopt  to compare the user experience, I found that Loopt is not available in my region of Canada.  Carriers do not yet support it.  So Google did go independent from the carriers now globally with this Location product and especially in Canada.  However, one of my friends in Japan said they were unable to install the application. So I guess they have not found a way to get into Japan as easy as Canada.

I think the application works great, and another great release for Google, but the product does not make sense yet to me at this time. Why are they coming out with products of this type when others are looking to Google as the platform to build on top of with these kinds of services.  If it is about user data and advertising, to make better recommendations to the friends around me, then this is an interesting opt-in and ad sales proposition I am very excited to see how they do it.

Well for all those folks out there that got my invitation- please note, I am just trying this out, nothing more.  If I find it useful, I will let you know, but in the mean time if you have a problem with my ping, Sorry about that.

-MS

In today’s Fortune online there was an article on ” Why are there so many iPhone games” , I found the discussion of pricing of games very interesting to note as a major disruption that has now also affected the Games Publishing business. For as little as $10, a user can get a similar quality game on the large screen as if they were to purchase the same game on the PSP. A downgraded experience for Nokia’s high-end devices costs $20 USD and even the low- mass volume device versions for $10. Not only did Apple get the User interface right, they build a business model of halves. a business model of halves is when you enter the market with a pricepoint half your competitors for services, 2X the quality, and twice as easy to use and aquire. Apple- hat’s off to grabing this opportunity even in a very crowded difficult market such as the Game business.

What still amazes me is that they were able to get that product out, build a business of over 500M downloads and mass-market penetration of services with out a single cent of that download tarriff going to AT&T. With over 22% of the downloads as games and over 18K available application titles, there is truly a new meaning to the concept of developing and application for a device and not build it through the browser.

As it is rumoured there will be an explosion of Android devices soon to hit the market, it is curious how Google will now embrace this content community to play catch-up with Apple. My gut tells me at this point the the ecosystem built up of applications for apple may tend to be more webcentric with Google.