Why Twitter, Facebook and Google+ can Peacefully Coexist

 - San Diego, California - Amidst the unbelievable—perhaps exaggerated—buzz surrounding Google Plus, I've read many articles that pit Google's new social networking service against Facebook. One friend of mine predicted “Facebook will be the new Classmates by December.” Others declare that this is the latest of Google's many (failed) efforts to overtake social networking—first with Orkut and then with Google Buzz. I saw similar us-versus-them language when Apple announced Twitter integration with the new iPhone operating system due in September—some commented that it had lost the “social network war” to Facebook since Facebook has more active users than Twitter does. I believe these discussions make a critical mistake in assuming that all social networks are in direct competition with each other. From my experience with Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus, I have found that the three social networks serve different social needs and thus are only peripherally in competition. Though I know I am contradicting the doomsday prophecies of social columnists everywhere, I believe we benefit from having all of these social networks. Each of them serves a specific and unique purpose that the others (for the most part) cannot provide.

Click to read more ...