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| Google+ brings virtual exclusivity to life |
There’s a lot of invitation-only social networking going on these days. Look around the web, you’ll find the members only clubs. On June 28th, Google launched the invite-only “field testing” phase of Google+ development. Based on social media activity and presence, invitations were sent out to selected requestors. The next day, those people were allowed to invite their friends and networks to join. This was soon suspended due to extremely high demand for accounts.
This reminds us of the old battle between penetration and prestige pricing. If you’re not familiar with these two strategies, you’re about to be:
Penetration pricing is a technique used when a business introduces a product into the market at a relatively low price in order to attract a large customer base. The hope is that new users or customers will try the product, find they like it, and continue to use the product when the introductory pricing time frame has ended. This is common with cable and satellite providers, credit cards, and myriad other products and services.
Prestige pricing (sometimes called Premium or Image pricing) is a method where the business will introduce a product or service at a high, or prestigious, price. The intention is to set an expectation that the product is high-end and exclusive. This method is most often seen with jewelry, clothing, and automobiles. This generates buzz – no pun, honest.
So, are invitation only web services a new, online version of prestige pricing? The exclusivity provided to early adopters is closely akin to prestige pricing.A few ogres have had a go with “the Plus”. Here are some initial thoughts.
Google+, or Google Plus, is the online giant’s latest attempt at social media. After failing with Google Buzz, Google+ is a refreshing attempt from the company of a hundred zeroes. Of course, it has its shortcomings. Come on, it’s just a kid. But, it’ll probably be around for a good long while.
Why? Google’s already got their mitts on a large chunk of your digital life. You may or may not realize it, but Google is everywhere. The map app on your iOS device is Google powered, Google Earth is a great way to see pretty much anything anywhere in the world, Picasa – the online photo sharing application – is a Google product, and YouTube – the broadcast yourself behemoth – is a Google service as well. Google’s got its own browser, Google Chrome, and pretty much anything else you could want to do online, well, there’s a Google app for that. Big whoop, right?
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| Mudhole? Slimy? My home, this is. |
This is where Google+ comes in. The service is closely related in form and function to Facebook. Just in case you’re from Dagobah, and have never heard of Facebook, it’s the 750+ million user strong, social media giant dictating the direction of the digital world. Ok, maybe it’s not dictating the direction of the digital world, but you’d be hard pressed to find a modern company or group of friends without a presence on the network.
The trouble is, nearly everything inside the Facebook environment comes from outside. Google+, on the other hand, incorporates all of Google’s services, seamlessly. Add to that Google+’s “Circles”, “Hangouts”, and “Sparks” and there’s definitely something worth checking out…all the time. Sure, Facebook has similar services, but they’ve been cobbled together from bits and pieces. Facebook is like Frankenstein’s monster. Eventually, it’s gonna go crazy and end up at the North Pole in ashes. G+ has all of these features integrated in the core of its being. Plus, no pun intended, it’s closely tied into Google’s own web rankings; more +1s equals more Google go-go juice.
As long as the farms, vampires, and mobsters stay out, Google+ might have a real chance at taking down, or at least paralleling, Facebook. Sure, Facebook has 750 million users, but in its first two weeks, Google+ had over 10 million. Not a bad start.
What do you think? Are you using Google+? Leave a comment below, or hook up with us on facebook, twitter, or over at our website, www.cleverogre.com
