So, what are some of the differences between these two social media superpowers? Google+ and Facebook are in competition to gain costumer value. But what is it that they offer which differentiates themselves? We can take a look at the two companies and analyze their antes, neutrals, distinctions, and most importantly for this topic, their drivers.
The Antes: Antes are the features of Facebook or Google+ that are just common expectations. These features aren't what is going to attract millions of consumers but they are necessary. They can almost be considered a "prerequisite to competition". In our case, both Facebook and Google+ have the chat option. You can talk with your friends online in real time. Am I, the consumer, running to a social media platform because they have a the chat feature? No way. It's too commonplace. However, am I avoiding a certain social media platform because they don't have the chat option. Absolutely. That's why I say antes are a prerequisite to competition. There must be a chat option for me to even think about using a certain platform. Of the four categories, the antes is where we will see the most characteristics. My reasoning is because whenever there is a successful differentiation within this industry, the rest usually can quickly and easily copy that feature. Other antes for Google+ and Facebook include uploading photos, commenting, video calling, etc.
The Neutrals: Neutrals are the features that aren't very important nor different in the consumers eyes. It's difficult to find many neutrals for this industry. Since Facebook and Google+ both want to make themselves distinct platforms, then they would want to eliminate those features that aren't very important to a consumer and that don't differentiate themselves in anyway. They want to provide a sleek and streamline platform that is not bogged down by features that won't even be used.
The distinctions: These are the features which differentiate the two platforms but aren't very important/relevant to the consumer. For example, on Facebook, i can go and "poke" someone. I can't do this on Google+. No other social media platform allows you to poke someone. However, I have never poked anyone on Facebook. It's not very important to me. Of course it's a differentiating feature for Facebook but if they were to disable this feature tomorrow I would not even notice. It's a distinguishing mark but not an overly attractive one.
The Drivers: These are the most influential features that Facebook/Google+ can provide. These are the features that differentiate the two and that are very important to the user. These are what bring the largest quantity of users. Here are some of the most obvious differences: How you manage your friends is a very obvious difference. On Google+, you can arrange your friends into different circles where as in Facebook you can also arrange friends into different lists but it is not really promoted. What makes this a bigger difference is that you can more easily share photos, messages, videos, etc., with only these circles of friends on Google+. Another driver for Google+ is their advancement in video calling. In contrast to Facebook, you can leave a video message on Google+. A more abstract but hugely influential driver that puts Facebook in favor is simply the amount of users on Facebook. Facebook still dominates in the amount of regular users. You can't fully use the features on Google+ if there aren't as many people to use them with. For example, I am driven to Facebook because I know there will be a full list of people to chat with right now.
As Google+ gains steam and adds users, the circumstances will change along with the antes, neutrals, distinctions, and drivers. All we can do is sit back and enjoy.
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