The Google+ Game Plan

Before you read any of this, I have to say that if you think Google+ is “social”, it is a big understatement of the product.

Remember when Google said “social is a layer?” Well they weren’t kidding. People went as far as thinking Google was clueless about social, but the fact is the average Googler is smarter than the average human (source: myself).

I’m guessing if you are reading this you have heard of Google+, but if you haven’t it is a platform that Google is building that is going to be much bigger than social- (what many think it is). Don’t get me wrong, it is “social networking,” but there is a HUGE curve ball coming.

Before you continue, I’m going to paint the picture here for you. Think social+entertainment+commerce=Google+. By the way, a little birdy told me this…

Lets touch on social first. Social is obviously what everyone thinks Google+ is today and what people think it will continue to be in the months to come, but are mistaken. It doesn’t matter whether you are for the service or think it is just trying to steal Facebook’s game, and refuse to join, because in the end, you will want to join so bad, you might even pay for it. In my personal opinion, I already think some of the features Google+ has are 10x better than Facebook, for example Google Hangouts v. Facebook/Skype. The primary example being, you don’t need Skype branding to have a video calling service and it should have been on Facebook a few years ago, and group video calls with up to 10 people will drive more people to use Google’s Hangout functionality than one on one calling, especially in a commercial environment.

Now lets touch on entertainment. Here is the obvious, Google+ and YouTube will be linked together and the whole YouTube experience will happen inside Google+, for those who want it. But there’s a further step that most people don’t consider today. It’s YouTube movies. Now this might not make sense yet, but keep reading. People will be able to also play games inside Google+ and be rewarded for it, with REAL rewards (called +points). This is no new concept to the world, as many companies are currently rewarding its users with real tangible rewards for playing games, but the way Google is approaching this, makes all that seem irrelevant. By real rewards I should be more clear, Google won’t be giving away product X for playing a game, instead they will have a rewards system - the oldest form of rewards known to man kind. Google’s rewards (+points) will be able to be used to rent movies on YouTube movies, but more so it will play a killer role for the commerce business Google will bring to the social experience.

Here is where you start thinking Amazon. Everyone loves Amazon, for one big reason: it saves the consumer money most of the time. Google Commerce will use the +points earned from playing games inside Google+, among other ways of earning, like getting a certain number of people to engage with your Google+ posts, to discount items purchased through Google Commerce. Google also recently launched a product called Music. Currently you can’t buy music through Google Music, but that will change (with the cooperation of labels). However, just like +points could be used for YouTube Movies, they’ll play a gig in Google Music, once Google can ink the deals with record labels. There is also Google Offers, which these +points could be used for. Imagine buying a daily deal and not spending money on it. Playing a virtual game, getting points, and getting an end tangible satisfaction out of the whole system…sounds good to me.

So the killer question for all of this is: WHY? Why would Google give rewards to people for playing games and doing other things on Google+? It’s simple. People love it. It keeps the user lifecycle going in one big circle. Think about it this way, people are being social; playing games; connecting with friends, which they do already, and Google is giving +points for that. With +points, Google’s other business endeavors live on because who doesn’t like discounts or free things that they’d pay money for? In addition, the +points given to users, won’t eat away at Google, because they will earn revenue from the sources the points are given away in anyways. And the loop keeps going on and on as people spend more time on the platform.

All of this will only leave one question flowing in your mind…IS GOOGLE+ WHAT GOOGLE’S NEXT MAJOR BUSINESS IS? Everyone knows Google has been trying to innovate outside search, because in all fairness they may not be able to sustain what market share they have today for the next 10 years.

There is also another question. If Google executes on all of this in a successful fashion, it could certainly put a handful of other competitors in a sticky situation. How can anyone compete with Google’s “social layer” with rewards, leading toward cheaper or even free products for consumers? Google being in multiple spaces with Android, Google Offers, movie rentals on YouTube, a future commerce platform, Google Music, this could be really, really disruptive in the whole tech ecosystem.