Social Media & Search

Could Google+ for Business and Brands Be a Revenue Play?

Might Google+ Require Business and Brands Pay to Play?social media for brands and businesses

Could Google’s Tight Control of Businesses on Google+ reveal intent to roll out a “Pay to Play” Revenue model?

Google has so tightly managed the release of its Google+ Social Network that it has proactively deleted profiles created with handles, brand or business names during it’s controlled roll out to the public. Google has confirmed their intent to accelerate Google+ for Business. But let’s be real, Google is all about business relatonships, and revenue. It had to have included business participation in its plan to dominate the social media landscape.
Every social media platform has begun with personal profiles…Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. Many wuld proactively create business profiles, which prompted the platforms to enable businesses to include relevant information. But, they didn’t aggressively prohibit business use. And, then came enhanced features, API’s and of course advertisements. With an estimated 20+ million users on Google+ that exclude business entities, Google has surely created a robust demographic profile to further an Awords offering on Google+. The queston is, will Google+ require businesses to pay to participate, or let them engage for free?

Google Begins to Invite Business and Brands to Google+

Those who have requested to be part of the Google+ network for business await their invitations to enter the Google Plus platform “legally”. Roll out of Google+ for Business is clearly a completely separate proposition for Google, prompting them to assert total control of the launch of the service.
Google has made no effort to conceal its desire to become an integral part of every business with enterprise level tools where they begin to charge for services. Might Google+ become a revenue-generating proposition?I know, I’m thinking like a cynic.
So, tell me what YOU think!
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Social Media & Search

Google Real Time Search, Twitter Updates & a Google+ Social Search Engine

Google Reveals Plans for Real-Time Search, Twitter Updates and a Google+ Search Engine.

Google Real Time Search Will Return

Google’s Real-Time Search feature was disabled in July, reportedly due to failure to come to an agreement with Twitter to license, archive, index and display updates in search results. Twitter had been considered the lifeblood of real-time search content. The removal of such, creating a void in real-time search, arguably one of the most relevant aspects of search.

Google’s position after the agreement ended was that Twitter did not provide enough value, according to Google Fellow Amit Singhal. The industry has been waiting for Google to reveal it’s plans to replace or revive real-time search. Finally, word is emerging that real-time search will return soon and include update public posts on Twitter, Facebook, and of course the newly launched Google+ social media platform, as reported by Ben Parr for Mashable.

Twitter Updates Expected to Return to Real Time Search

Of course we don’t know exactly how Google will treat Twitter updates in relationship to Google+ updates and Facebook posts, which have not proven to be public enough to be real-time search friendly. Yet, we expect that such a large source of updates from around the world simply must be included. Twitter in real-time search has become a vital communication platform in times of natural disaster, political unrest and current events with up-to-the-minute news.

Google+ To Feature Social Search Engine

Would we expect any less than the search engine leader? Google is expeccted to add a search engine to the Google+ social media platform, and there are requests from users to integrate RSS in circles, even though Google.com Search does a fine job of indexing this content.

Google+ Will Not Always Be a Social Media Island

With 25 million users and growing, and business profiles yet to be added, Google+ is clearly in its infancy and likely to evolve quickly, as does everything Google. Despite the feeling that you are on a social media “island” when Google+ because it doesn’t allow communication or integration with other social media platforms, Google is likely to succumb to some user behaviors to fan the flames of growth. One could expect the features that social media users have come to expect (like real-time search, business profiles, etc.) and then some from Google+, the social media platform that wants to dominate.

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