Google vs Facebook : the definitive battle for internet dominance

My blog is definitely not the place on the internet where you would want  to read a commentary on the biggest battle that is being fought on this planet right now. But my fascination with the internet in general and social media in particular compels me to write down my views on the same.

So, Google versus Facebook it is. At first one glance one wonders what sense it makes to pitch the biggest search engine against the most successful social networking site, but you'll see. Hold your horses.

Enter Google.

Since 1998, Google's sole mission has been to organize all the information on this planet and make it more usable. Clearly it has succeeded in the most awesome manner. Starting off as a meek search engine being bayed by far superior rivals, its journey to the pinnacle of internet dominance has been a tale of sheer brilliance, innovation and in-your-face ethics, and till the mid-late 2000s Google enjoyed its pride of place as the numero uno on the web. But then, all happy tales have the irritating worm dangling from the end, which somehow manages to eat its way through and spoil the tale in its entirety.

For Google's fairy tale, that worm was Facebook.

Facebook started off as an ambitious project by a couple of college students to hit on their college girls. Well, I won't bore you with the details of Mark Zuckerberg's story here. But Facemash (as it was known back then) soon became Facebook, transcended the walls of Harvard University and spread like a pandemic. The be-all and end-all was that Facebook's increasing popularity gave the folks at Google more than just cold feet and broken finger nails. And things just kept getting worse. In July 2010, Facebook was reported to have 500 million users worldwide. A bit of math leads to the mind blowing stat that 500 million -- that's a twelfth of entire humanity. Of course, that was a year back, so it's a lot more today.


Let us now analyse some of the important aspects of this epic battle.

The naked truth first, which is simply put, Google sucks at social networking.
Or at least, has thoroughly sucked till date. Google championed the web. But its attempt at social networking never took off in the right direction. The glimmer of hope that was Orkut remained confined, largely to India and Brazil. The much-hyped Google Wave, despite its shizz with HTML 5, remained an obscurity and died an equally obscure death. Google Buzz lumbers on, but has been plagued by privacy issues since its birth and ... let's face it, it's basically a place where Google employees bite each other and grumble about Facebook.

Google's diversification meant that it had multiple arenas to fight multiple rivals. All well established, at that. There is Mozilla and Microsoft gnawing at the Chrome browser. There is Microsoft again, trying to outwit the Chrome OS with it's cloud based Azure. Lastly and more importantly, there is Apple's ubiquitous iOS locked in a death-match with Android.

The aforementioned however are not as much as Facebook's brilliance as they are Google's failings. As for the former, there are a couple.

Facebook's tiny red notification button, for one, was an important feature never seen on any social networking website before. Insignificant as it might seem, that was one factor that set Facebook apart. The user logging in, would naturally be lured by the red blotch on the top, and soon, he would be swimming around in a sea of notifications. It acted like a vortex, sucking the user into Facebook, redefining social networking. Orkut seemed staid after this.

Facebook's 'like' button, however, was the first definitive nail on Google's coffin. Maybe it's a bit too harsh to use that metaphor now, but it essentially was that clarion bell that sounded one fine morning that resulted in hundreds of Googlers all over the world scurrying to work overtime. The like button was an extraordinarily unassuming yet shrewd business move. Within weeks of its introduction every page in the internet, every blog, every brand, and every product of every brand had it's own 'like' page. Virtually every link on the web could now be 'like'd, and the internet thus transformed into a web of 'like's knit together by Facebook, and a certain Mr Zuckerberg leering from atop.

enter Facebook's next big venture, Facebook Mail, and to be frank, it did not turn the world upside down and was light years away from being the GMail killer that Zuckerberg had envisaged. It was a neat feature agreed, that incorporated messages and chat history in simple easy-to-look-up conversations, but it hardly does anything to rival Google's superbly successful GMail.

and enter Google's +1. Remember the Googlers scurrying to work overtime to combat Facebook's cunning 'like' button? After a lot of brainstorming they come up with something exactly similar to a 'like' button but with a supremely lame name. And presto, the +1 button is born. It is easy to see why they couldn't keep the name 'like' -- Zuckerberg would have personally disemboweled Larry Page over copyright infringement in that case. And verbs similar to 'like' are hard to come by, thanks to linguistic limitations. So +1 it was, and +1 it still is. It works exactly like a 'like' button, as you can see in this blog. You like a link, and instead of 'like'ing it on Facebook you '+1'it. Lame ass? Very.


The Question of Originality. But will it help? As it stands of now, the +1 button has exactly the same functionality as a 'like' button. Also, how many people will actually navigate to your Google profile to see what all you have '+1'd ? Quite unlike the teeming millions of Facebook admirers who will pounce upon any link that you have 'like'd that appears in their news feed?

All of the awesome innovation that Google is synonymous with seems to have hit the rocks here, and in a depressingly sad manner, if you ask me.

The important thing in the internet is, unless it is ground breaking, it never really catches on. GMail is a fine example. In spite of having some remarkable features that sets it apart from Windows Live or Yahoo! the fact that it came late in the email business is sorely responsible for its astonishingly low number of users as opposed to Windows Live or Yahoo!.

And so it is, with the '+1' button. I really don't think that Google's brainchild can match wits with Facebook's 'like' gambit here.

The final question remains. Is Google scared?
There is absolutely no doubt that Facebook's advances have shaken Google. Last November, Google announced that it would block automatic import of contacts from Google into Facebook. Coming from Google, a firm that stands for an open web and a motto that states " do no evil" this is surprising. Which goes on to prove that Google is getting cold feet, albeit, a wee bit. But does it matter to them anymore?


... finally enter, the awesome Google Inc.
And that is where Google's awesomeness kicks in. The dominance of the web, which was Google's primary ambition (and is the subject matter of this post) has indeed been threatened by Facebook. But it is imperative to understand, that in the age of the IT, when priorities change within years, web-dominance today is not just about having control over the websites that you visit and bringing the whole internet under one superpower. That might have been the case five years back, but now, with the advent of cloud computing, 4G and web TVs et al, web dominance is a hell lot more than knitting a web of 'like's between websites. And in this new scenario, social networking websites are, but a very trivial component.

Not surprisingly, Facebook has no identity here. Google on the other hand, has an arsenal of weapons to deploy and make the most of these changing demands, and yes, they are the Android, the Chrome OS and the Google TV.

For in the new web, its a different world out there. One that bodes exceedingly well for Google.

Because, as it always has been; Google = Awesome. And so shall it remain.

No leaf Clover

Have you ever gone through those phases of your life, when a certain thing had kept haunting you? Kept getting back to you? It could have been anything - a memory, a loved one, an incident, a scene from a movie ... or something as arbit as a game of chess you had won, a shirt that you had worn or even a sumptuous dessert that you had tasted.

From a personal perspective, I have. Many a time. Though what I relate now is something that has been stuck in one corner of my mind for as long as three-and-a-half-months. It laid there for all this while, gathering dust and neglect, till I thought I had to dig it up. Express it, rather than let theGreatHealer shroud it in layers of forgetfulness.

It's a song. More specifically, a particular lyric of a song. And the song goes by the name No Leaf Clover. And just in case you haven't head the song, it's a song from the live S&M album of none other than Metallica.

Contrary to the reactions expressed by those of you, who snickered in disgust at the name Metallica, instantly associating it to a loud, noisy, headache-inducing group of profane people, who yell in front of microphones, and jump around on stage ... well, honestly speaking, I have nothing to say. The only thing I can hazard is saying that the next time, try to look at the thing differently. Or follow the lyrics of the song you are listening to. Maybe you'll like it that way.

But to those of you who are into metal music, who can understand the beauty behind all that "noise and loud sound", to them, I really don't need to say anything. 

Coming back to No Leaf Clover.

the lyrics and my interpretation follow :

And it feels right this time
On his crash course with the big time
Pay no mind to the distant thunder
New Day fills his head with wonder, boy

Says it feels right this time
Turned it 'round and found the right line
“Good day to be alive, sir
Good day to be alive,” he says

Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Was just a freight train coming your way
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Was just a freight train coming your way

Don't it feels right like this
All the pieces fall to his wish
“Suck up for that quick reward, boy
Suck up for that quick reward,” they say

Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Was just a freight train coming your way
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Was just a freight train coming your way
It's coming your way
It's coming your way oh yeah!
Here it comes

Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Was just a freight train coming your way

the song begins with positive vibes. Of how things seem to be falling in place. The rejection of the ominous elements (pay no mind to the distant thunder), and the start of a new day, a new hope signify a near plethora of good things about to happen. It is apparently a "good day to be alive" ...

The next stanza brings all the positivity crashing down. How things which had seemed to be falling in place ... suddenly get all hay-wire and messed up. There's trouble brewing up. And the ominous agents are on the rise.

The analogy drawn is not only very appropriate, but also very thoughtful. How a person who is trapped in a dark dreary tunnel, welcomes the soothing light at the end of tunnel, assuming it to be the end of the darkness, but is overcome with sudden fear when he realises that it is actually the light from a freight train heading his way.

Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Was just a freight train coming your way ...

The next stanza again raises the hope, and makes references to times of war. "Suck up for that quick reward boy." "Suck up for that quick reward" they say ...  how a newly recruit soldier, who is all enthused about joining the army is shown the real deal in the battle front. His senior officers ("they") ask him "Don't it feels right likes this?" The young gun loves it ... the battle field is all that he had dreamed of all his life ... and "All the pieces fall to his wish" ... but then again

Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Was just a freight train coming your way ...

By far, this is the most crucial line in the lyrics, and the one about which the song revolves.

The sudden fall in luck; the suddenly overwhelming helplessness; the sudden rise of negativity; the sudden turning of tides. All this and more.

PS : A four leaf clover is a symbol of good luck, and a harbinger of good times. A NO leaf clover is therefore, quite the reverse.

brb

the zero

"... and what happens when we take a number out from itself", asked the primeval Ghot.
"Nothing remains ... at all", the primeval master answered.
"So how do we show that there is nothing left in that?" the primeval Ghot continued.

The primeval Master closed his eyes and contemplated for a while. After he was done pondering over this question ... an answer to which would change the course of human history, he opened his eyes again, picked up a piece of charcoal and  scribbled something on the parchment, that lay on the ground. Having done this, he stared at his handiwork in amazement and wonder.

The primeval Ghot peered into the parchment expecting to see something out-of-the-ordinary scribbled in that, and was quite disappointed when he saw that it was nothing more than a circle.

"That's it?" he asked incredulously, "a tiny circle?"

The primeval Master smiled back.

-- passage of time --

Little did the primeval Ghot and his Master know that by this feat, they had actually changed the way societies would evolve thousands of years down the line. Little did they know that they had by this act, shaped the way cultures would function, the sciences would develop and the world would become what it is today.

The little circle which came to being as a result of a simple question posed by the primeval Ghot, is today better known as the zero. Or, if you are BITSian, a zuc.

So why the sudden fascination for this seemingly well-known everyday little object, a fascination that has even compelled me to dedicate an entire blog post to it?

Why indeed? I wonder.

What does the zero denote?

Several things. For one, it is the answer most unsuspecting IITJEE aspirants tick in an OMR sheet, hoping that to be the correct option and then wonder what went wrong. For another, it's the thing that comes back on your answer sheet, in red ink when you submit a blank one. For yet another, it is the thing which when added at the end of your paycheck, increases your worries ten-fold.

To the chemist, the concept of Absolute Zero, the theoretical temperature at which all thermodynamic activity ceases, is of profound interest. To the physicist it is the hearing threshold in decibels, amongst other things which projects zero into its numero-uno status. To the computer science student it is the quintessential role zero plays in binary mathematics and Boolean algebra that makes it so very essential. And to the historian, the year zero is the fulcrum about which the Gregorian calender is pivoted.

To the mathematician ... lets not get into that.

So as you can see the zero is not only ubiquitous, but varied in it's application in the real world.

What else does it denote?

Simply put, another of its applications lies in its usage as a symbol for nothingness, as a symbol for voids,  and emptiness. This application is possibly the biggest feather this beautiful number has in its cap, and the reason why it came to exist in the first place.

Which brings me to the thing I had in mind when I began writing this post.

Nothingness.

A queer thing it is. We know what it is, yet we don't understand what it means.

We seem made out of it, yet we fail to embrace it. 

We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust

We know that that's what is in store for us, yet we don't want it.

If it is nothingness that awaits us, let us make an injustice of it; let us fight against destiny, even though without hope of victory. 

It is that which is present everywhere, yet we fail to perceive it.

God made everything out of nothing, but the nothingness shows through.

One only needs to look at it the right way.

-- pondering --

 Why the hell did I write all this? Forgive me if I've wasted your time all this while. I guess it's the post-Oasis hangover. Need to get some sleep.

PS : my backy shouts and tells me that SENSEX has gone down by 65 points. That's bad.

On a parting note, here's some food-for-thought.

cheers :-)

the third side of the coin

"Now you're looking for the secret. But you won't find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled. "

Indeed.

There is a difference between just looking and looking correctly.When you just look, it's no more than a physical phenomenon ... immaculately described by a few laws of physics and made unnecessarily complicated by a large number of biology books. But what it essentially boils down to is ... the fact that it is understandable.

Looking correctly however is far from that. It is certainly not fully understandable. Nor is it defined in black and white by a few laws of physics. It, in fact, transcends all that the physical world stands for, and has to offer. Be it reason, rationale, human comprehension or laws. It borders upon vagueness, randomness; at times venturing into realms of surrealism; at other times, even boldly entering legends and myths.

Hindu mythology has a lot to do with looking correctly. The sort of looking that isn't done by the eyes. The sort of looking that is rather done by the mind. The sort of looking that isn't associated with just letting reflected rays of light getting refracted through your lens and creating a real image on the retina. Yes, what I refer to is indeed the sort of looking done by the third eye or the mind's eye.

Is it just a myth or is there room enough to speculate upon it's possibilities in reality? Surprisingly enough the discovery of the tuatara, the enigmatic reptile from New Zealand does prove that a third eye is very much possible. It's function however is not to look at things the way the two ordinary eyes do. In fact, it doesn't look at all. However it is proof that a third eye once existed on this creature before it fell prey to the time stained process of evolution. Shamelessly quoting wikipedia :

"The tuatara has a third eye on the top of its head called the parietal eye. It has its own lens, cornea, retina with rod-like structures, and degenerated nerve connection to the brain, suggesting it evolved from a real eye. The parietal eye is only visible in hatchlings, which have a translucent patch at the top centre of the skull."

What this third eye did, how it functioned, before it sunk into layers of dormancy? Perhaps we will never know, perhaps we will never figure out. But yes, open to ideas? Always. Maybe this is what made them special, and helped them stay put on this planet since the Mesozoic era? Very aptly being branded as living fossils?

Was it just the power of visual perception or more that helped the third eye, make their bearers, the tuatara invincible to the ravishing evolutionary process that made many a species extinct? That gave them a perspective to this world that the two eyes never could?

Can we have that power ever? Or is it a lost art? Fit for the Gods only, and books of mythology perhaps?

Or maybe, we can gain it someday ... gain that perspective which will help us read between the lines that we actually read. Look at stuff the way others don't. Stare at something and know what it'll be like in the future.

In actuality it's just the perspective. The art of looking at the third side of the coin, that matters.