How Facebook Inc, Google Inc Are Different: Ex-Employee Explains

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Facebook and Google have a lot in common but at the same time are also different. The core business of both tech firms is almost similar, i.e., providing information, but they work on different ideologies, and their way of execution is also significantly different from each other. It is not hard to believe but can be well explained by someone having an experience of working at both companies.

How Facebook Inc, Google Inc Are Different: Ex-Employee Explains

Core businesses similar, approach different

Paul Adams is one person who has experience working with both tech giants and is currently working with Intercom as the vice president of product. His stint at Google lasted for three years from 2007 to 2010, and then he joined Facebook, where he worked from 2011 to 2013.

“So the biggest difference for me was that Google is very much engineering driven — solving hard engineering technology problems — whereas Facebook was a means to an end,” Adams told Business Insider.

Adams told BI that the core task performed by both tech firms is making information easily available to users with the help of technology and with making communications easy and simple. However, the difference between the two is in the way these companies think.

How Google is different from Facebook

Hard technology problems are at the focus of Google as it is an engineering-driven company, while Facebook has its focus on making communication among people easy and cheap. Even though Facebook has achieved “phenomenal engineering accomplishments,” that’s not its mission, he says. Adams calls Facebook a social psychology company that works to make the experience of communicating and keeping in touch memorable for users while allowing them to share their most treasured moments with those who matter. At the same time, it has a focus on the engineering aspect as well, says Adams.

Facebook’s ideology since the beginning has been initiating and maintaining communication between users, and these communications are guided with some kind of psychology, according to Adams. On the other hand, Google has a completely different outlook towards communications. The internet giant makes use of algorithms and rankings for this, says Adams.

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