Friday, October 12, 2007

Google Gives Few Hints About Social Network Plan

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google said “People don’t appreciate how many page views on the Internet are in social networks,” at a two-day gathering of an eclectic mix of Google partners, competitors, social activists and politicians. Social networks, he said, account for an “enormous proportion” of Internet usage, he added. “It is very real. It’s a very real phenomenon.”

Mr. Schmidt did say that over the next year, Google is planning to use information it has about the connections between its users, something techies call the “social graph,” to improve searches and other Google services. He said the company would like to sell advertising for Facebook, a position currently enjoyed by Microsoft. And he highlighted the Google’s existing social network service, Orkut, and its deal to sell ads on behalf of MySpace, the largest social networking site.

Mr. Schmidt’s comments came amid intense debate in the tech world about the value of Facebook, which has reportedly discussed taking an investment from Yahoo, Google, and despite Mr. Ballmer’s qualms Microsoft. There have also been reports that Google will not only use its social graph information for its own services but it will create an system for other companies to use the same data, in other words, to “out-open Facebook.” Mr. Schmidt was closed mouthed about that. Article

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