Google Plus Is DESTROYING Facebook's Dreams, And Facebook Isn't Playing Fair. Zuckerberg Freaks Out About Google+ Privacy, Changes Settings. Google+ could be Google's latest enterprise weapon. News June 29, 2011 12:33 PM ET Computerworld - Google's new social networking service just a day old, but analysts are already wondering how long it will be before Google+ is refocused for the enterprise. On Tuesday, Google launched a social networking service dubbed the Google+ project, that is clearly a direct advance on Facebook, the world's largest social network and an increasingly serious competitor with Google. Analysts say, though, that Google didn't go through the effort and expense of creating a new social network just to compete with Facebook, whose 500 million users put it leagues ahead as the race begins.
Google surely would love to take a bite out of Facebook's user base, but the company also sees Google+ as an important avenue into the lucrative enterprise market where it battles Microsoft. "We all know that eventually what we're seeing here [Google+] will find its way into the enterprise," said Brad Shimmin, an analyst with CurrentAnalysis.
Google+ Added $20 Billion To Google’s Market Cap. How much is social worth to Google? Investors added $20 billion to Google’s market cap the first week after the launch of Google+ on June 28. A Morgan Stanley downgrade on Friday, brought the total down to $15.8 billion because of doubts whether Google will indeed be able to capitalize on new products such as Google+. But somewhere in between there, give or take a few billion, is how much more the market thinks Google is worth than before the launch of Google+. On June 27 (the day before the announcement), the stock closed at $482.80. It rose to a high of $546.60 on July 7, for a $20.6 billion gain to its market cap (with 322.25 million shares outstanding). Then the stock dropped to $532 at Friday’s close. Of course there are other factors at play here (the health of Google’s core search business, the overall market, etc.).
Bravo, Larry Page. Google+ Popularity Adds $45B to Net Market Value. Mountain View, Calif. — Google’s encore decision to dive into the social media market is paying off — big time. In just under one month since Google+ launched, the company has seen substantial growth in its users, stock and net market value. With a reported 10 million-plus members, Google+ has added to the company’s $45 billion valuation with a market capitalization of nearly $200 billion. Google’s stock since the social networking site’s launch has risen an additional 30 percent. “Google+ has had a lot to do with the perceptions,” said Scott Kessler, equity analyst at Standard & Poor’s Equity Research. “People look at Google as being … a pretty important player in social media.” USA Today noted that Google’s valuation gain is more than half the estimated value of privately traded Facebook when it launched seven years ago.
Still, Google+ has seen a number of positive reviews that could bring this giant even closer to toppling Facebook’s brand. Related Links: Google+ App Allows Mobile Payments, Hints at Future NFC Plans. Google+ May Be a Minus for Social-Network IPOs. Whenever I hear that an investment trend is a sure thing, I instantly get skittish. After all, in today’s hyper-competitive world, which is also beset with huge economic challenges, things can turn sour quickly. So, yes, the latest sure thing is that the IPOs of Facebook, Zynga and Twitter will be mega hits. That take is based on solid logic — hey, despite yesterday’s plunge in the market, LinkedIn’s (NYSE:LNKD) shares were actually up (going above the $100 mark). But in the social world, a hot property can easily become a ghost town. A recent example of this, of course, is MySpace, which was recently sold for a pittance. However, competition has definitely been an issue.
Let’s face it, Google has shown that it can disrupt a market. As for Google+, it looks like it the goal is the same. Already, some influential social types such as Steve Rubel and Kevin Rose, are spending more time on the network. It’s common for there to be hype in the social-networking world.