There is thinking that targeted and struck major pain points that Facebook consistently neglects
Google has always messed up any social they tried: okurt, picasa, buzz, wave BUT this is not those.

1. Privacy

They offer “block resharing” & “block commenting” options, & circles shows a company that cares about privacy

2. Culture.

Fbook opts people in to things, google doesn’t. Fbook allows other users to do things without your permission

The culture of trust about a users personal life is vital. Fbook shows a complete lack of interest in that.

Take for example Groups “FB Version of Circles” The allow others to add you and then you get emailed 100x

3. Weakness.

The weakest thing I have seen is their integrations, attempting to use google assets vs. popular tools.

They don’t get Photos and haven’t. BUT if they integrate Instagram, Flickr, Twitter, Zenga etc WOW!

4. User Behavior:

Users will automatically use Google assets if they are similar to FB. FB has made moves to get homepage space

Google wins homepage space still. If they be conquer basic features of FB & be more private. They Win.

5. Design.

This release has an Apple feel to it. Their UX is an ex apple designer. You can see it in the usability.

You can compare this to old google but it IS NOT like old google. This is the first product with real thought

I can argue that all day. This is the first product where they are looking at social user behaviors

6. Extras.

They have YouTube and can make a better integration than Fb. I say it now Photos will make or break service