In the past week, rumors have swirled around the possibility of a new Google-developed Facebook-killer. But given the company's long (and sometimes rocky) relationship with social networking, the development of such a site is likely to be anything but straightforward.
Social networking is Google's white whale. The search giant's otherwise nearly impeccable track record of launching properties has long been marred by its inability to make headway in the space largely dominated by Facebook and MySpace. The company's failure isn't for a lack of trying, of course. Google has made a number of attempts to corner the market, with limited success at best.
The company facilitated the development of Orkut Büyükkökten's eponymous social networking site, which launched as an invite-only service in early 2004. Orkut went on to become a hit in Brazil and India, with those two countries making up the vast majority of traffic to the site. In other countries, the U.S. included, Orkut hardly carries the same caché of other Google properties.
Back in February, Google launched its Twitter competitor, Buzz, and was roundly condemned for the perceived privacy issues surrounding that service's e-mail integration. It was a rare misstep for the company, which immediately took steps to address those concerns. Since then, the service has more or less limped along, outside the usual press spotlight that tends to surround Google products.
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