ReadWriteWeb skriver:
As we get closer to – and hear more about – the launch of Google’s upcoming social product, Google Me, the less and less it seems like a stand-alone social network and more like an interweaving of social connections into its existing offerings. It sounds eerily similar to those "social" search results that have lingered at the bottom of the results page and third-party extras like Rapportive, the Gmail add-on that gives you the social networking lowdown on your email contacts.
Nonetheless, some are saying that Google CEO Eric Schmidt acknowledged the upcoming launch of "Google Me". Really, it looks like he acknowledged the coming of "layers", not the stand-alone, Facebook-killing social network we’ve all discussed.
Google has essentially broadcast – and stayed true – to this party line all along. When it bought Slide in early August, word was that the acquisition would be a "tremendous opportunity for the two companies to come together to change the way people socialize on the Web", according to a statement on the Slide website. Google itself said that "we’ve already built strong social elements into products like Gmail, Docs, Blogger, Picasa and YouTube" and that the joining of the Slide team would mean Google would be "investing even more to make Google services socially aware and expand these capabilities for our users across the web".
Kilde: Mike Melanson @ ReadWriteWeb
Det lyder mere og mere som om Google Me bliver en social aggregator i samme stil som blandt andet Windows Live. Det er måske en lille smule skuffende, at Google ikke tager skridtet fuldt ud og konkurrer med Facebook, men på den anden side kan man jo spørge sig selvom verden i virkeligheden har brug for endnu et socialt netværk? Verden har måske heller ikke brug endnu endnu en social aggregator, sammenligner man Googles profil håndtering i forhold til Yahoo og Microsoft, så ser det ud som de halter noget bagefter i forhold til integration til diverse sociale netværk. Google Buzz er imidlertid et skridt på vejen, selvom det er implementeret på en ret irriterende måde efter min mening.