Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is trying to become more like Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), says Tom Simonite of MIT Technology Review. When the search engine giant first unveils its Google+ social networking service, many thought that it is following Mark Zuckerberg. But after about three years into Google+, it looks like Facebook is following Google+ rather than the other way round.
In an interview with The New York Times last month, Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is working to “unbundle” its app. That means taking the social networking giant’s website or app and splitting it into several distinct and more specialized services. It’s not an entirely new strategy because that’s the way Instagram and Messenger work today. But the Facebook CEO has made it clear that the Menlo Park-based company is moving away from what it used to be.
Why is Facebook adopting the ‘unbundling’ strategy?
It suggests that the core of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) will now become a login service that gives you some social connections and a digital identity for a suite of single-purpose services and apps. That’s similar to Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) email which can be used to access all single-purpose Google services such as YouTube, Hangouts, Google+, and others. You can use Google+ as a social network, just like Facebook, but it is kind of unified identity service all your actions on various Google products.
Mark Zuckerberg said he is adopting this strategy because people are increasingly turning to smartphones and tablets. On mobile devices, users prefer “single-purpose, first class experiences” instead of multi-functional ones that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has traditionally offered. Tom Simonite says another reason the Menlo Park-based company is becoming like Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) is that its own model of social networking has run its course.
Long-time Facebook users find the News Feed a turn off
Many people who have used Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) for years now find the News Feed a turn off. Another evidence that people are losing interest in News Feed is that the company’s two recent experiments, Home and Paper, couldn’t taste success. Both these features simply repackage the News Feed content. The “unbundling” strategy definitely benefits end users. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s disparate services work better together. Adoption of this strategy by Facebook means it won’t have to shut down its new acquisitions or forcibly integrate them into existing products.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares were down 0.47% to $63.19 in early trading session Wednesday.
