Facebook vs Google

My interest in social media, especially the giants, has grown recently. So, I'll certainly share news and curiosities on here.

Turns out that Google and Facebook do not get along. Part of it maybe that about 10 percent of former Google employees have switched to Facebook. In the latest development of this saga, Google is banning Facebook from automatically importing Gmail data.

According to Google officials, they are only trying to match Facebook's practices. As it turns out, Facebook is more strict on privacy matters. Facebook only allows companies that have cut deals with them to import their data. Microsoft and Yahoo are examples of such companies.

A Google spokesperson told eWEEK, "It's important that when we automate the transfer of contacts to another service, users have some certainty that the new service meets a baseline standard of data portability. We hope that reciprocity will be an important step towards creating a world of true data liberation--and that this move will encourage other websites to allow users to automate the export of their contacts as well."

As you can see, the two Goliath's of social media don't get along too well. It's all about growth and revenue. As Facebook is increasing in popularity, Google is trying to slow it down. Some say that part of the reason is to give Google enough time to launch their own social network. The code name for such network? Google Me.

Ironically, that was one of my options for the name of this blog. Go figure.

The Google Story, part 1

I’ve been always fascinated by computers. What specifically fascinates me more about computers is the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. I got my first computer when I was around 15 years old, along with the eternally slow dial up. I remember that AOL was king back then, but there are some new kids on the block now.

If I didn’t hate math so much, I’d really think I would have come up with some cool and innovative new “thing” that would have changed the online world. That may sound a bit preposterous, and maybe even pretentious, but I really think I could have done something special. I really did spend a lot of time online early on in life. In my teenage years, I taught myself basic HTML and JavaScript. I created several web sites on the once popular Angelfire and they became pretty well known in their niche. There are many stories about those sites that slowly but surely I will share in this blog.

But most of all, you should know that I love writing. Combining my love for technology, ingenuity and writing, I plan on reviewing the following book: The Google Story, by David A. Vise and Mark Malseed.

What made Google so popular? Where did their catchy name come from? How do they make money?

These and many more questions are promised to be answered in the book. I plan on blogging on four or five chapters each time, just giving you the interesting details, the lessons learned and the answers to these and more questions.

So, tell your tech-loving friends about this blog, or better yet, tell them to google me.