The Google-Facebook Rivalry (GOOG)

The rivalry between Google and Facebook is becoming more and more clear as each begins accumulating new services and acquisitions. The competition between the two empires is particularly interesting because each is so worthy of the other: Facebook brings 500 million users to the table while Google takes credit for 10.3 billion online searches in June alone – roughly 62.6% of all online searches as reported by comScore.com. So how exactly are the two going head to head?

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG): Google has made over 15 acquisitions in the last seven months, including Agnilux, BumpTop, DocVerse, Episodic, LabPixies, Aardvark, Metaweb Technologies Inc., and Picnik and Plink. Most notable of these acquisitions has been the $700 million purchase of ITA, a travel software company that provides aggregate information from sites like Orbitz and Kayak. These new purchases reflect Google's desire to stay innovative as the world of online searches continue to evolve and mature.

Google Me: After realizing that Google Buzz wasn't going to compete well with Twitter or Facebook, Google began researching other projects with bigger aims. The rumors all started with a tweet by Kevin Rose, the Founder of Digg, on June 26th that he had heard, from a credible source, that Google was to take on Facebook with a new social networking service called “Google Me.” Although the tweet has since been removed from his stream, speculation and news has continued to surface around the project.

Given Google's recent talks with EA, Playfish, Playdom, and Zynga, the true intent behind Google Me has been revealed as a casual social gaming network. Although Google already allows users to create profiles on the network, Google Me will provide a platform in which to engage other users in a more interactive setting.

Facebook Questions: Yesterday marked the release of the beta version of Facebook Questions, a service that allows users to pose questions, or crowd source, Facebook users. Want to ask for a music recommendation or find out what your friends think of the most recent political scandal? Facebook Questions will allow you to ask any question on any topic while allowing you to customize the type of users to which it appeals. Although Facebook Questions will not function in the same way as Google searches, the service may radically change the way in which users choose to gather information by localizing their search results to people they know and trust.