Foustland

There has been a lot of chatter around the internet here, here, and even here, look for yourself, about whether Google will be announcing a social network to potentially compete with the likes of Facebook.  I don't have anything groundbreaking to report on this front, but in a quick search today, I did notice something that popped one of those a-ha thoughts into my head.  

Google does a great job tracking things.  This is evident in a number of ways.  First, have you ever noticed that shortly after you visit a shopping site, you start to see ads for that site on other web pages and sites?  They may not be all Google ads, but I have noticed this a lot lately.   You can learn more about this here

Second, (and this is the part that made me go hmmmm...) is a lesser known view of your Google account (if'n you have one) called Google Social - (note, you do need to be logged into a Google account to see this link or refer to the image above).  Google Social is a view of your social net within the Googleverse, i.e. it provides a view of who and how you are connected to other Google users who you have in your address book.  In fact, one of the ways you can view this data is through the tab called - wait for it - Social Circle.  This view shows your address book contacts who are tied into Google accounts, and the various ways you have interacted with them, such as by Chat, Picasa Web Albums,  bloggers blogs, and other places outside the Googleverse like their own URLs, Twitter, and Flickr.

So it is evident that like Facebook, Google is keeping track of who you, as a Google user, interact with and how.  At least within the framework of the Googleverse.  

Does this mean that Google is about to launch a social network to compete with all of their other social networks, including Google Wave and Buzz, and Orkut, not to mention the big hitters out there in the likes of Facebook, Twitter?  Who knows, surely not me right now.  

UPDATE:

I also noticed a little feature in the side menu of a Google Search that lets a searcher take a look at results within their social, er, circle.  Just expand the More Search Tools at the bottom of the sidebar, and select Social.  There you will see what others in your circle of not just friends, but also (apparently) within sites you regularly visit, are saying about what you just searched for.  

I know that this is a far cry from any sort of social network, but I really find this sort of thing interesting and way more useful than the witty banter found on Facebook.  Targeted search results based on direct connections.  I going to let that sink in for a bit and wait until Google I/O to see if this sort of thing is packed up in a neat little tool possibly called Circles.