The Future of Facebook is GooglePlus | #TChat Special Edition

By Josepf Haslam on August 16, 2011 in Art of Marketing

#TChat 8-17-11 Facebook at Work: The Professional Future of Your Personal Network

Q6: What does the future of Facebook look like in 5 years? 10? How will it impact businesses and careers?

The Future of Facebook is GooglePlus and Applications like BeKnown. There will be dramatic impacts to businesses and careers as these technologies evolve. Let me explain.

Cohesion and simplicity are important in an interest-fragmented world.

Monster’s BeKnown application on Facebook is an excellent example of fishing where the fish are. Monster’s concept of building an integrated portal into Facebook is spot-on perfect. We’re all getting tired of a bazillion passwords, different user interfaces, and having 47 tabs open in our browser. Building portals on Facebook, and soon GooglePlus, that seamlessly integrate back to the “mother ship” is simply a good idea. It helps with cohesion, it helps to keep it simple, and it keeps your brand visible where most people are hanging out.

The future of Facebook is GooglePlus

Life as we know it is over. Five years from now Facebook looks more like the GooglePlus of four years from now. This is good. Competition is spurring creativity and giving consumers and businesses choices. It seems bewildering, the rapid pace of technological advances seemingly outstripping our ability to adopt them. But this is exactly why GooglePlus wins and Facebook runs to catch up! GooglePlus is a bold attempt at creating a cohesive platform that integrates Apps and Social Media on a much deeper scale than ever before in history. Unless you think DEC’s All-in-1 nailed it of course… Google still has to get it right of course, and here’s the 12 Most Important Things Google must get Right with GooglePlus.

Careers have always been Social and now incorporate Media

Can you get a job without knowing anyone? No. You make yourself known with Resume, References, and Interviewing. Increasingly, whether you like it or not, you make yourself known through Social Media. Today, Companies are increasingly turning to Social Media as a prescreening tool and a type of character reference. This has vast implication beyond this post. Simply pay attention to your digital footprint. Use GooglePlus Circles to your advantage and keep private information private(ish). The good news? Done well, Social Media brings you amazing connections and references!

Businesses need to integrate with the mega-platforms BUT

Do not make Facebook, GooglePlus or any other mega-platform your main point of presence! (You don’t control them. You are subject to their terms of service. They own the SEO (relevance). And they control the technology — None of this is good for you). Monster.com will be successful because it is integrating it’s purpose built deep site with a Facebook App. This gives it a Branded presence and retains critical options and flexibility. GooglePlus, with its much deeper application base promises some exciting opportunities. In all of this, businesses need to keep their Brands (and domains) paramount.

The ability for Businesses to contextually search for potential new employees on the mega-platforms is a little mind-boggling and also touches on some disturbing privacy issues. However, this will be a case of the strong getting stronger so do not hesitate too long! If you do not have a plan to integrate with Facebook and/or Googleplus? Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

How will you keep up with it all?

Find thought leaders in places like #TChat or #BizForum on Twitter. Get engaged in the conversation. Make trusted connections and then experiment! Call, Skype, GoogleVoice, or Tweet @Josepf and if I do not know? I know who knows. Comments? Questions? Additional thoughts? Please comment below!!!!