Watch out, Facebook. Shrewd move by Google (GOOG)

From AlphaNinja   |  2010-02-08 20:00:08

The WSJ is reporting that Google (GOOG) may be looking to add a "social" feature to the wildly successful Gmail:

The change is a new module that will allow Gmail users to view a stream of status updates from people they choose to connect with, according to one of these people.
Currently, Gmail has a chat bar that can display a short "away message" for each user's contacts. But the new interface will have an area that users can click through to see updates from more friends in a stream—a format popularized by Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., these people said.


Ahh, just what we need - more people updating their network of friends on what they had for breakfast, or how awesome their gym workout was!


Were Google to do this, you know it would speed up the "monetization" timeframe for Facebook.  Could this even be a super-slick move by Google to get ahold of Facebook at a depressed fire sale price??   It's a great possible strategy -->>  Spook Facebook  - and it's owners and venture backers with completely illiquid company stock - by developing a competing technology.  They then sell their hundreds of millions of users to Google, who can pay for it in company stock.   Google can then figure out how to best monetize this user base, while assuring it's own investors that they only paid 5% of the company's stock to get Facebook for $8.5billion.


Copyright 2010 AlphaNinja


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