The launch of Google+ last week has lead many to conclude that it is Google’s attempt to address the fragmentation of the web. Rupert Staines, managing director of online ad network RadiumOne discusses what this means for the industry and how the changing “social web” can present more opportunities for advertisers to reach consumers.
Although Google has played down the challenge to Facebook and also suggestions that this in itself is a social network in the conventional form, the new offering does reflect how the internet is changing.
The advent of Google+ demonstrates that social networking is not just Facebook. Many digital sectors before it, like search for example, have seen fragmentation, albeit after many years of establishment.
Google’s entry to the market could well signal this process is already happening to social, despite its relative immaturity. Indeed, increasingly consumers and advertisers alike are viewing the entire internet as social, not just the walled gardens offered by the likes of Facebook and Twitter.
Like, sharing and recommending is as commonplace outside these walls as it is within them. This, and Google’s entry, demonstrate that there are more avenues than ever with which to reach consumers and advertisers need to react accordingly.
Rupert Staines
Managing Director
RadiumOne UK
www.radiumone.com/