Why can’t Google get social right? Are they trying too hard? We’ve seen products like Google Buzz, Orkut, and Google Wave get rolled out, only to be ignored and forgotten, leaving Facebook time to perfect their product and continue to dominate the social space.

Where is it all heading?

I’ll tell you what I think…

Facebook

Facebook owns social right now, plain and simple. Surely by now you’ve seen Facebook’s redesigned profile pages. What do you think of them? A lot of people are wondering why Facebook would make such a big change, especially when the majority of their users were perfectly happy with the way things were.

I like the decision to aggressively implement new features into the site, but like it or not, Facebook has the freedom to behave like this simply because they are in the driver’s seat. What are we going to do if we don’t like something, go somewhere else? And where would that be? Myspace? Please.

In Zucks’ recent appearance on 60 Minutes, he discussed the new redesign (among other things). One of the things he talked about was the emphasis he wanted to place on photos, which had previously been something the site wasn’t geared towards.

Every change has something to do with tweaking the social aspect of the site, which is always evolving, and that’s what I like about it.

The bits of info that now reside at the top of our profiles were designed specifically to give new visitors your “elevator pitch”, or the essential pieces of info you might give someone when you first meet them (e.g. where you’re from, where you work). Just having that there will cause people to fill out that information (if it’s missing) and enable you to learn something about people when you first connect with them.

Social is what Facebook is good at. Eventually I think they’ll do battle in the search market, but we’ll discuss that when they get there.

Google

And that brings us back to Google, who is good at search and not so much with social. Google’s overall growth as a company and their inability to get some of their products off the ground as of late is causing some of their employees to jump ship for companies like Facebook.

In the 60 Minutes interview (which you should definitely watch if you missed it), Lesley Stahl pointed out that Google has lost some 200 employees to Facebook alone, causing Google to consider creating a startup incubator within their own company to “retain nimble minds“.

And in the midst of all that, Google’s latest attempt at social has just been uncovered. Originally known as “Google Me”, then “Emerald Sea”, the product is currently being referred to as “Google + 1“, which is terminology you might be familiar with if you use Google Calendar to create meetings.

Google + 1 as it exists now is just something that resembles a social toolbar, at least according to TechCrunch, but it is reported to launch early next year. Do you think Google will be successful this time? When more facts are known, we’ll see how much “buzz” this generates.

Conclusion

Judging from what I’ve seen from Facebook and Google, I’d have to say it looks like it’s much easier to move from social into the search space than vice versa, which is what Google is faced with doing.

Are both companies naive to think they can win both?

Image Credit: Tiger Pixel

Apologies for the long delay between blog content, I assure you it was with good reason. Let me catch you up to speed.

The last time I really spoke to you was back in late August, when I made the decision to venture to New York City–busted ankle and all–to take on an internship with VaynerMedia. It was a big opportunity for me and as you might recall, I fully intended to crush it. I hustled hard and did everything I could to make a good impression, and it paid off…because I’m still here.

Long story short, you are now looking at VaynerMedia’s newest Project Manager. I’m really happy and excited to continue working with Gary and AJ, as well as the rest of the team, who I’ve grown quite close to. Such a great group of people, and the job is awesome.

I’ve also continued my position as Staff Writer for MakeUseOf and have been writing 12 tech-related articles per month, as well as 10 short news articles, a new addition to the site. I have plans to contribute to the VaynerMedia blog on a regular basis as well, so look out for that.

On a lighter note, I started a personal Tumblr blog at SteveCampbell.me. Videos, music, links, and basically anything I find funny or interesting can be found there, so if you want to get to know a little of the real me I suggest you check it out.

What happens to Social Branding Blog?

So as you can see, I’ve been pretty busy, but seeing how much Gary and the people I work with hustle during the week only makes me want to work even harder. I want to continue building my personal brand and adding to it by doing what I’ve become pretty good at–creating content.

That includes this blog. I still have big plans for Social Branding Blog, including a bit of a change in both pace and direction. I want it to be an outlet for me to discuss what’s going on in the business world. I have an opinion on just about everything I see taking place with brands in the social space and I want to share them with you.

So just to recap where you can find me:

• MakeUseOf – where I’ll still be sharing the latest apps and websites I find useful, as well as tech trends in general
• VaynerMedia blog – where I’ll begin sharing my latest revelations in marketing/brand building
• Social Branding Blog – where I’ll be sharing my opinions about what’s going on with brands in the social space
• SteveCampbell.me – where I’ll post things that make me laugh or are really, really cool

…or you can follow me on Twitter to get ALL of it. Stay tuned. Love, Steve.

Image Credit: bizior

I like this quote for a couple of reasons.

First off, I don’t know who said this, but someone once said, “Every time you try to create something, you end up creating something else”. It’s true. You can plan and strategize all you want to, but–in the end–when you go to build something you’ll end up with something completely different from your original plans.

Why?

This is perfectly normal. It’s because we always come up with better ideas during the creation process. Your plans are likely to change 100 times anyway, so start off by thinking bigger.

Thinking bigger allows us to remain open to any ideas that could make our project better. If you’re building a business, you don’t want to handicap yourself by deciding what small niche you’re going to market your product or service to prior to actually creating it.

In my opinion, you need to be as open-minded as you can be in the beginning. You’ll have all the time in the world to scrutinize what you’ve created and shape it into what it was meant to be afterwards.

I hope that makes sense.

What do you “think” about thinking bigger?

Image: Startup Quote

Here’s a good video by Royal Caribbean in which they throw out some stats about vacation time and how we’re wasting it.

It’s always good to take a break from your work once in a while–both mentally and physically. So the next time you think you need a vacation but are reluctant to take one, do it anyway.

I think this video is a creative use of some statistical data and an effective way to market a brand. The fact that it was useful and I learned something from it makes it very memorable.

What do you think?

Here’s an interesting graphic from Jess3. If you’d like to see a larger image, look here.

Thoughts?

One thing I’ve noticed with using #NewTwitter is I haven’t received any fail whales lately.

Assuming that this is the case with everyone, it appears as though 1 of 3 things have happened:

1. Twitter either fixed their daily crash issues,
2. threw more servers in for the new release,
3. or they just haven’t been DoS attacked in a while.

Which do you think it is?

Image: 9GAG

We’re all guilty of putting things off. Procrastination I believe it’s called.

You know what happens when you put things off on the Internet? They get lost forever.

For instance, I look at a lot of news stories throughout the day. What I generally do is go through my Google Reader, Twitter, and Facebook accounts and Ctrl+click links I find interesting to open them into new tabs.

I then start reading through the articles I’ve opened, closing them one by one upon finishing.

The problem is I rarely finish them all. I’m usually too busy with other things or I’ve already become preoccupied with other stories I came across throughout the day. So what do I do? I leave them in tabs to check later or I bookmark them.

As the days go by, the queue piles up, and things get forgotten.

What can you do about it? 2 things. Either set aside a specific time during the day/week to catch up, or be more selective.

Did I forget anything?

Image: 9GAG

I’m a firm believer that if you work hard enough, you’ll create your own opportunities.

Luck can also factor in on where we end up in life, but there’s nothing you can do about luck. Hard work is something we can control. Get a handle on the work side of the equation and you’ll improve your odds of success.

What is your definition of success?

Image: Startup Quote

Do you need a new logo? This infographic from watermark design should help you figure that out.

Click here to view the full image.

Design is an important aspect of branding. Here are 5 resources I found interesting this week:

Vandelay Design: Personal Websites: 25 Examples for Your Design Inspiration

Smashing Magazine: I Want To Be A Web Designer When I Grow Up

Web Designer Depot: The Next Level of Design: Being Unique

Design Reviver: The Different Elements that Bring Together Minimalistic Design

1stwebdesigner: 20+ Inspirational And Informative Resources For Logo Creation