Google has undoubtedly been caught off-guard in light of the mindblowing growth of MySpace and social networking. Their Friendster-like knee-jerk offering of Orkut years ago has largely been unsuccessful.
With the launch of the new version of Google Groups, however, there are signs of life. It has the makings of a ‘MySpace for the rest of us’ (kinda like Festivus).
What used to be a very cold interface is now friendly and, well, Google-like, which is curiously absent from the current iteration. Groups are easily categorized and searchable. Look-and-feel is customizable, similar to My Google Homepage. The interface is like using Gmail.
Most intriguing is the addition of customizable, richer profile pages. Users can add personal photos (Picasa plug-in coming soon?) and more in-depth information, a bit similar to MySpace, minus the latest Justin Timberlake soundtrack.
It is still beta - and knowing Google, the Browns will win a title before it’s not - but it isn’t difficult to begin seeing a more personable and socialable vision on Google’s horizon - integrating and benefiting all their other products and services (and serving up lots and lots of ads) of course.
From an Internet recruiting perspective, these specialized groups of users become pretty appealing audiences for employers hoping to reach passive job seekers. The healthcare, technology and finance groups get high visibility in the beta version, for example.
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