Google’s previous attempts at social networking generally weren’t received well by users.  FriendConnect had major issues with browser coding, Orkut never really caught on in the U.S., and I think we all remember the Buzz privacy scare last year.  I have high hopes for Google Me – this could be Google’s chance to tie all of their various outlets into an effective central hub.

Google’s varied demographic also sets a solid foundation for building a social network that can appeal to a broad range of individuals.  Businessmen and businesswomen use services like Google Docs to organize important information, Google Calendar for scheduling, and AdWords for marketing purposes on a daily basis.  College students, moms, and celebrity bloggers often check their Gmail accounts, read the latest stories on Google News, see a video on YouTube, or learn something new on Google Health, and then discuss their findings on Blogger.  Google owns all of these elements and I believe that Google Me could effectively incorporate them under a single, central site.  Think of it as Ping.fm on steroids that incorporates Google sites instead of social networks.

In a recent article on BNET, Ben Popper illustrates this idea perfectly and makes a few predictions of his own:

For Google, Zynga’s games are an important piece of the social networking puzzle. The company will never be able to premier a product now that, standing alone, can hope to challenge Facebook. Instead Google seems to be working in reverse, establishing the individual pieces one at a time and tying them together later on. It’s already got photos, micro-blogging and location based services. The key will be pushing an integrated suite of these tools on platforms like Android and Google TV. If Zynga becomes built into these offerings on a base level, and prompts users to login with their Gmail accounts, it could go a long way towards helping the search giant construct its own version of the social graph.

If Ben is correct and Google is, in fact, reverse-engineering their own social media platform, then Google Me could stand a chance against Facebook.  CNN Tech reports that over 75 million users actively use Facebook’s Zynga games on a monthly basis.  If Zynga offers unique features to Google users, then I expect a large portion of Facebook users will go check them out immediately.  New games, along with integrated email, calendars, documents, chat, photos, and videos is an enticing opportunity for all Facebook users to try something new.  Whether or not Google will integrate Zynga into Google Me is still unconfirmed, but think of the opportunity that Google has to connect all of their services under a central social network.

I’m interested in this particular statement:

The government ought to mandate open source products based on open source reference implementations to improve security, get higher quality software, lower costs, higher reliability – all the benefits that come with open software.

I’m not sure a govt mandate would be as effective in this situation.  Countless IT bosses and system admins fiercely guard Microsoft-based servers and programs as non-negotiable.  These folks have never really TRIED considering open source platforms and so would be put in a very uncomfortable, unwelcome position.

However…

Earlier today I came across this Top 5 Digg Tech story:

Being Anti-Linux is bad for your business’ health

It would seem the latest Microsoft layoffs have spooked some and have caused others to really re-think their long term IT strategies.

My verdict is that open source has been gaining a lot of ground this decade – from the massive growth of Firefox to the adoption of platforms like WordPress and programs like Open Office.  The quality of open source product has grown to equal the enterprise level, and the enormous security concerns have continued to thaw.  The 2 biggest wins for open source are A. the cost (free) and B. the updates and scalability of the products (frequent and infinite).  IT departments are not immune to budget reductions, and the current economic climate may be the right catalyst to legitimize open solutions.

However, forcing these technologies upon institutions is NOT beneficial in the long run.  Open source as a movement has gained incredibly loyal fans due to its organic and viral growth – not a government mandate. With the proper encouragement and incentives, 2009 may be the year we see open source programs and platforms finally become a legitimate solution for America.