Google faces two major obstacles in its social networking ambitions: an implementation problem, and a brand problem. On the implementation side, their previous

Google faces two major obstacles in its social networking ambitions: an implementation problem, and a brand problem. On the implementation side, their previous offerings have not been compelling. On the brand side, people generally aren't eager to see Google's reach over their personal lives extended. That is, even if the implementation were compelling, the prospect of Big Google getting bigger, at least in the arena of gathering personal information, appeals to no one outside of Google. This parallels the growth of Microsoft's negative brand equity a decade and a half earlier. No one wanted to see a bigger Microsoft. The privacy guarantees alluded to in the original article make it clear that Google is intent on addressing both issues, yet I remain skeptical. Culturally, I don't see Google having individual privacy or freedom from tracking/slicing and dicing as core values. Eric Schmidt's indiscreet comments last year were more telling.