Facebook Beats Google

According to All Facebook, Facebook was the most visited site on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, taking over the #1 visited site from Google. Impressive numbers for both.

Yet they are not competitors. So how can one beat the other in any truly meaningful way?

Google is the tool we use for SEARCH. When we want to look for something or someone. When we roughly know what we are looking for, and indeed when we are actually searching for something specific, Google is the go-to site. They help us narrow it down until we find what we are looking for. So on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it is not surprising that people were not searching for stuff.

On the other hand, Facebook and most other social media sites are DISCOVER-based sites.  In other words when you want to be discovered, or you want people to trip across your message, social media is often the place. People are not really searching when on Facebook, they are being entertained by other people in their own communities. They are discovering what others in their community are up to. So again over Christmas, it is not surprising that people were checking in with family and friends. They were discovering rather than searching.

Being SEARCHABLE and being DISCOVERABLE are 2 completely different ideas, yet both allow you to BFOUND online. And being found online is a competitive edge that most businesses can no longer ignore. After years of learning to HUNT for customers, business is just now waking up to the opportunity of BEING HUNTED. Why try to sell people your product when you can simply allow them to buy?

Michael Bickerton, Raven5, January 2010

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