Facebook Credits Going Mobile?

Facebook appears to be taking another step toward extending its franchise to mobile devices. According to a Bloomberg report Wednesday, the social networking powerhouse is set to bring its Facebook Credits virtual currency to the mobile Web. Starting this month, Facebook began requiring social game developers on the site such as Zynga to process payments using Credits. Facebook in turn takes a 30% cut of transactions using its virtual currency.

The move would be a logical step for Facebook as it seeks to replicate its success on the PC-based Web across smartphones and tablets. And there’s little question games are the most popular types of mobile apps. But it also brings the company into more direct competition with Apple and Google, each of which takes the same 30% commission from selling apps through their respective app stores.

Facebook already boasts more than 250 million mobile users, and its rumored “Project Spartan” would create an HTML5-based platform to run on the iPhone and iPad and compete with iOS. With 425,000 apps in the App Store and 15 billion downloads to date, Apple may not be quaking at the prospect of Facebook entering the fray just yet. But given the social network’s rapid expansion globally, it has to be wary of Facebook’s long-term mobile incursion.

Citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the Bloomberg report says Facebook may add a separate news feed on its home page that displays activity in apps. The app feed would appear on the right side of Facebook pages and offer updates on what users are doing in games and other apps.

Apple hasn’t shown much flair when it comes to social media (see Ping), so can Facebook come close when it comes to packaging and selling digital content? For one thing, would Facebook users want another feed crowding the home page? Facebook tends to be more like Google than Apple when it comes to content: minimalist and utilitarian. Can it create anything to rival an inviting emporium like the App Store for mobile? Facebook hasn’t shown much aptitude (no pun intended) for that kind of thing to date.

Another question is how its symbiotic relationship with Zynga will evolve in the mobile space. With hits like “FarmVille,” “CityVille” and “Mafia Wars,” Zynga has long been the engine driving Facebook’s social gaming ecosystem. In its IPO filing, the game developer clearly indicated it has high ambitions for building out is mobile business. But it may be eying the established powers for distribution rather than continuing to rely so heavily on Facebook.

“We believe there is a large opportunity to extend our brand and games to mobile platforms such as Apple iOS and Google Android,” states the Zynga filing. By the time Facebook gets up to speed in mobile, will Zynga need it as much as it did on the desktop Web? Its options certainly look better in mobile.

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Google is newest addition to social network

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Internet giant enters the fray with ‘Plus’

By Michelle Madaras

First there was MySpace.

Then, Facebook took over and all but wiped MySpace off of the social network landscape.

Now, Google wants in on the action. The monster corporation known for its search engine, maps and image galleries is branching out into the social media market with a new program, Google Plus.

“Google Plus is a project that aims to make sharing on the web more like sharing in the real world: you share different things with different people,” according to a Google spokesperson. “We started the Google Plus project to see what a Google approach to sharing would look like, and to see if we could come up with a better way of connecting with the different people in all of our lives.”

“To organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful” is the holistic mission of all Google’s programs, according to a statement on the company’s website. Google Plus attempts to incorporate the aspect of social networking into this ideal.

Google Plus is in its trial phase, and one can only be admitted after receiving an invitation from a current member, and users must be at least 18 years old. As of July 14 more than 10 million people had joined Google Plus, according to the company.

“We are not letting users under 18 years of age into the field trial until we’re confident that we have the right teen safety features in place,” the spokesperson said. She noted Google plans to establish a minimum membership age at no less than 13 years old.

The selling point of Google Plus over other social networking sites is the versatility the user has to share specific information between friends, family, co-workers and the other people they interact with. To make this possible, Google Plus created “circles” to which a user adds contacts under the designated headings of friends, family, work, club or any other name the user chooses. This feature allows users to share information with specific groups of associates, and the people in those groups are the only ones who can view the post.

As with every type of social networking privacy and security are major issues, and Google has acknowledged these issues are a legitimate quandary for parents and professionals.

“We believe in providing users with transparency and meaningful choices,” the spokesperson said. “Google Plus makes it easy for users to share different things with different people, and understand how they appear to others.”

Much like other social networking sites, users of Google Plus can create profiles encapsulating their backgrounds and interests. Information that can be included are brief descriptions of themselves, an introduction, bragging rights, occupation, education, places they’ve lived, relationship status and preference, gender, other names and nicknames. Users can choose to allow search visibility via their profile pictures, and this information can be accessed by the public if they wish.

Other aspects of Google Plus include Stream, Hangouts, Buzz, Sparks and Huddle.

Stream is similar to Facebook’s News Feed — it is a collection of all recent updates made by contacts in a user’s circle. It also includes updates made by people in the area users live though global positioning satellites.

Hangouts are another way to stay in touch with friends. By creating a hangout, specific friends or circles can join a video conference.

“One of the things I find the most interesting is the hangout feature,” said Oak Lawn resident Mike Vanderham, 20, a student at the University of Illinois. “You have the option to play YouTube videos to the whole group making the viewing pleasure of that video that much greater.”

A notification is sent to the Stream page, and from there friends can click to participate in the event.

Sparks is an interest finder. When users save their interests and hobbies in the Sparks search engine, the program will generate and send them information based on what they like. New videos, article, books or other topic related media will be collected for users to view on their own time.

The Google Plus smart phone app, available through Android and iTunes, can be downloaded for free to phones and other internet- accessible devices. Most features are still available via a smart phone interface including access to Stream, photos, circles and a member’s profile. Android users can also upload video and pictures to their own private albums from their mobile device, then choose which circles to share them with.

Huddle, accessible with the app, offers texting between persons or groups, thus allowing everyone selected to view and respond to the same messages.

A tool bar at the top of every screen includes links to their other application, allowing Google Plus users access to all their programs while only needing to login once. Gmail, calendar, documents, photos, reader, Web and other apps are at users’ fingertips with just a click of a button. The combined interface that includes all of Google’s products promotes traffic to their sites. The company does not yet offer advertising on Google Plus.

“Google Plus is intended to make the entire Google experience better by including you, your relationships and your interests,” the spokesperson said. “By enhancing the Google experience, we believe that users will search more, share more, and spend more time on Google sites, which in turn will improve our existing monetization. We currently do not offer advertising in Google Plus, but will continue to look for new ways for businesses to engage users in the project.”

Google claims it does not aim to replace competitors such as Facebook, Twitter and the once popular MySpace.

“We realize that today people are increasingly connecting with one another on the web,” the spokesperson said. “But the ways in which we connect online are limited and don’t mimic our real-life relationships. The Google Plus project is our attempt to make online sharing even better. We aren’t trying to replace what’s currently available, we just want to introduce a new way to connect online with the people that matter to you.”

Some Google Plus users, however, are not convinced.

“Honestly, I think it’ll replace Facebook,” said Becca Twiet, 22, who graduated from the University of Illinois in May. “I say that mostly because everything Google has set out to do, it has succeeded at. Google Plus has everything Facebook has to offer and then some.”

Google was founded by Stanford University graduate students Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998 and has grown into world-wide enterprise with more facets to its original, pragmatic purpose. The inspiration for Google Plus project was rooted in progress, a Google spokesperson explained.

“Sharing has become one of the best parts of the web,” she said. “That’s why we began the Google Plus project: to see what a Google approach to sharing would look like, and to see if we could come up with a better way of connecting with the different people in all of our lives. Google Plus will have an impact across all of Google. We have search, photos, news and chat all helping to enhance Google Plus.”

Google plans to add new features based on trial suggestions.

“Yes, we’ve learned a lot during the field trial and have already started to make some small product changes to the product, like allowing people to hide their gender on their profile,” the spokesperson said. “We also saw a lot of demand for business profiles, so we’re accelerating our plans to launch these.

“It’s important to keep in mind this is an ongoing project and this is just the beginning. We plan to add a lot of features and functionality to Google Plus over time. We’re just excited to get started.”

This is part of the July 28, 2011 online edition of The Reporter.

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