Google Puts Employees' Money On Social Networking | |||
Google CEO Larry Page is tying employee bonuses to how well the company's social networking efforts go this year, in a sign that the new chief intends to crank up the heat on rival Facebook. Employees will see a 25 percent boost in their bonuses -- or a 25 percent cut -- depending on how well the company's projects fare, reported Business Insider. The rule applies to all employees, not just those working directly on social projects like +1. Employees are reportedly encouraged to participate by pushing Google's social products on family friends. "This is a joint effort so it's important that we all get behind it," wrote Page in a memo to the company. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has struggled for a foothold in the social space, with Orkut, Wave, and Buzz failing to capture mindshare as effectively as the company's arch rival, Facebook. Despite Google's massively successful search engine, Facebook is racking up substantially more in online ad revenue in the U.S., according to stats from market research firm eMarketer, most likely due to the time consumers spend on social sites compared to search engines. Google's new +1 service, which is like a disembodied version of Facebook's "Like" button that appears next to Google search results, could be the beginning of a social networking turnaround for the company. +1 requires users to sign in to a Google account to "like" results, and it shows friend's ratings when search results are delivered. The feature could be enough to get many people who don't have Google accounts to sign up, which could provide a way to convert people who use Google search -- close to everyone -- into users of some as-yet-unrevealed social network. It would also would give Google more precise targeting information for ads. Whatever new social networking scheme the search giant unveils this year, it's certain that all of its roughly 25,000 employees will act as evangelists. Source: http://www.mobiledia.com/news/86549.html |
Monday, April 11, 2011
