Internet expert on Google+: “Facebook is toast.”

It’s no secret. I like Google+ a lot. Lot of people love Google’s new social network. But, I think it noteworthy when someone like Steve Kille, a former Senior Research Fellow at University College London and one of Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)’s authors writes, “Google+ is very impressive. I reckon Facebook is toast.”

Kille, CEO of Isode, a high-performance messaging and directory server software company, has been helping design the Internet’s communication infrastructure from its very early days. He knows what he’s talking about.

In his blog for Ferris Research, a leading e-mail and Internet communications research firm, Kille explained that he saw Google+ eventually killing off Facebook for numerous reasons.

These reasons included: Google Plus‘ “integration with other Google services [which] will be a key strategic advantage, that Facebook will not be able to match.”

He makes a good point. Google already has, for example, a sophisticated e-mail system, Gmail, and a Voice and Video over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Google Chat. Facebook, on the other hand, is discovering that integrating Skype for VoIP into Facebook is easier said than done. Just today, August 1st, a major Skype/Facebook security hole has been reported.

Kille also praised “The Circles approach to privacy control” because it “puts control of
sharing with the sender in a clean and easy to manage way. Widely aired privacy concerns with Facebook will help fuel the already spectacular growth of the invitation only G+ service.”

That’s another telling point. Many people have been voicing concern about Google+ user security.. Certainly you should be wary of your security on any social network, but keep in mind that Facebook’s security and privacy settings are an ever-changing maze. Heck, here at ZDNet’s we’ve been publishing new editions of the multi-part The Definitive Facebook Lockdown Guide in no small part because even we, people who make their living from riding technology’s cutting edge, have trouble keeping track of what’s what with Facebook’s settings.

He also thinks, as do I, that Google+’s “asymmetric model (like Twitter) will usually work better. It removes the need for ‘hand shaking’ on setup, and subsequent issues of de-friending.” With Google+, you don’t have all the friend/de-friending drama or the eternal Facebook question, “Where do I know this guy from?” You can follow someone new who follows you or not with no pressure.

Kille also thinks that “Photo integration is increasingly important and already better than Facebook. Convergence with Picasa [Google's Web-based photo album] is likely to help G+ to extend its lead.”

When I first started using Google+, I didn’t see this one myself. Since then, though, I’ve found myself being followed by more and more photographers who are using Google+ and Picasa to share their work. I suspect that it’s because photographers are growing concerned about the long-term fate of Yahoo’s Flickr and so they’re looking to move to other services such as 500px or the combination of Google+ and Picasa.

Put it all together, and Kille concludes that while “Facebook has a lot of users and enormous network effect strengths. All the same, I don’t think this will save it from going the way of MySpace.” I can’t disagree.

Related Stories:

Five Things to love about Google+

Three signs Google+ is here to stay (And two that it’s doomed)

Google revises Google+ real name management policy

What was Google thinking!?

Google+: An infographic to ease your privacy-concerned mind

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Social Networking 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Facebook, Twitter, Google+ …

By Eric Griffith

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You’ve grown up hearing about tweets, status updates, likes, and friends (the online kind, that is). You may have even dabbled in social networking yourself. And there’s that now-infamous movie, of course. Whatever your experience or inexperience, we’re here to advise you about what you should and shouldn’t be doing on today’s most-popular social networks.

Just in time to go back to school, PCMag is here to give you a complete rundown on how to become a member of the major social networks, how to use them to your best advantage, mistakes to avoid, and what using these networks means for your future. Think of this primer as part of your coursework—Social Networking 101, if you will.

First, let’s be clear: You should join every major social network. Why? Well, while one may dominate now, it may not last forever (Friendster, MySpace anyone?). Oh, and you should reserve your name—your very digital identity—whenever possible.

Now, let’s grab our syllabus and let the lesson begin…

THE COURSE: SOCIAL NETWORKS 101

Facebook
It’s home to 750 million active users (as of July 2011) who create status updates about what they’re doing or thinking, share pictures, videos, messages, and links, play games, and run apps. It’s a jack-of-all-trades so big that, for some, it’s synonymous with the word “Internet.”

LinkedIn
Some refer to it as the business version of Facebook, minus the games, of course. It focuses on the kind of networking that helps people get jobs. Your profile on LinkedIn is actually your résumé.

Google+
This social network is the new kid on the block and, technically, still in “field testing.” Google+ builds on features we’ve seen previously from Google, such as the status updates we saw in Google Buzz and picture sharing from Picasa, mashes them together within profiles, and integrates them in other incredibly popular Google services like Gmail. Is it a Facebook killer? Time will tell.

Twitter
Though technically a micro-blogging service, Twitter does play in the social networking space. Tweets are, essentially, the same as status updates or links on Facebook; they’re just limited to 140 characters. You can follow anyone and anyone can follow you, and you don’t have to do anything to make this happen (unlike Facebook, where making “friends” requires approval from both sides).

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