On Google+, Robert Scoble asks if Google has lost the business social war? He writes:

I just walked down El Camino and noticed that I haven’t seen a Google+ sign yet. This isn’t the first time I have noticed this, either.

Lots of TV shows talk about Twitter and Facebook but I haven’t heard one yet say “circle us on Google+”

That could explain why Google is doing TV ads: to get leverage to be included in the conversation.

That might work for TV, we will see, but will it work for main street?

That will be a lot tougher. Heck, I can’t even convince my wife to use Google+. What makes you think that google will convince a small shop owner to hang up a sign or paste a sticker up.

These signs remind me that mainstream doesn’t care yet about Google. It makes me ponder just what a deep hole Google is in here and how long it will take to dig out.

Simon Says

It’s comfortable for us to put things in terms of wins and losses. In reality, the Age of the Platform is more nuanced.

Google doesn’t intend to win the social war. It will never out-Facebook Facebook and it’s not trying to do that.

Rather, much like its new music service, the company realized that it needs key planks in its platform. Not having a social one is a big risk these days. By the same token, Facebook’s search is nowhere near as powerful as Google’s—yet you can still do searches on the site.