Larry Page Hits Out At Facebook’s “Bad Job”

Page’s comments about Facebook are unlikely to be related to Graph search, since they were published before Graph was revealed last week. He admitted that Facebook were “strong” in terms of social networking products, but claims that they are failing in other areas. It’s not the first time that Facebook’s new strategies have been criticised, but the fact that the criticism is coming from a close rival could signal an ever deeper rift between the two companies.

Larry Page was also quick to defend Google’s own social network, Google+, saying that it’s different enough from Facebook to warrant its own space in the market. As Facebook moves towards search – Google’s undisputed primary product – the two rivals are likely to defend their products more vociferously than ever.

Google’s CEO also knocked Apple for its dismissal of Android, pointing out that Android has easily overtaken iOS in terms of market share. However, it’s not plain sailing for Android; Google’s own devices have suffered from poor supply in the UK, with its promising Nexus 4 smartphone being unavailable for most of the festive season.

Overall, it seems that Larry Page is keen to keep pushing Google beyond steady updates and into the fast lane, investing in innovation and keeping the company one step ahead. Android seems to be one area that Page is proud of, but we can almost certainly expect more diversification as it strives to stay ahead of the pack. Page himself tasks his teams to come up with products that are ten times better than anything the competition is doing; he cites Gmail as a perfect example of the giant leaps that have made Google so successful. Innovative projects like Google Glass and its own self-driving car are products of his own fertile imagination.

Google has just announced that it will purchase land near King’s Cross in London for its new office complex, a massive building that could provide more than a million square feet of space for the company. When the new 2.5 acre Google HQ is complete, it’s expected to be worth £1 billion, although we won’t see Google actually move in for another three years.