Google is about to introduce social features to Gmail, takes on Facebook and Twitter.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is in the beginning stages of adding a new feature to Gmail, which is meant to compete with Facebook and Twitter. These new features can be launched as early as this week.
The new service will be added as a module in Gmail that allows users to write short status messages similar to what you can do on Facebook and Twitter. These status messages will then be displayed to the users contacts in the Gmail contacts list.
The service will reportedly also have support for adding video clips from YouTube and photos from Picasa. This new information is, according to the Wall Street Journal, coming from a source who is well informed by Google’s plans.
“Initially, Google misunderstood social media and its significance,” says Greg Sterling, an analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence to USA Today. “They’ve got the religion now and have been trying ever since to add more social utility. Social is how the Web has evolved.”, he continues.
Google recently introduced the service “Google Social Search”, a search function that displays search results based on a person’s friendship and relationships.
See an introduction to the Google Social Search features here:
Facebook announced last week that the service now has over 400 million users. Google Gmail had 176 million unique visitors, according to the market research company Comscore.
According to The Wall Street Journal, a spokeswoman for Google was not available to comment on the rumours.
Here’s a newsflash from The Wall Street Journal about Google taking on Facebook.
