Followby Nick O’Neill
One of the features found in Google Plus, the company’s new social networking product, is photo tagging. It’s a feature that Facebook was awarded a patent for just a couple of months ago. So will the social network send a cease-and-desist letter to the search giant?
Photo tagging was arguably the single most important feature on Facebook, as it resulted in users who were glued to the screen as they received email after email notifying them of photos uploaded from the night before. The feature has also helped the site grow its membership.
Granted, there are no widely known instances of Facebook using their patents as a means to shut down others, although the company has most definitely gone after companies with similar names. Patents have also become widely frowned upon, as they can stunt innovation.
If Facebook decided to send Google a cease-and-desist letter, that would also mean that the social network acknowledges a competitive threat from the search giant. Currently tech pundits have widely praised Google Plus but have yet to acknowledge the defensive assets that Facebook has available. Facebook already plans on making a product announcement tomorrow, and that could divert the technorati’s attention from Google Plus.
Regardless, the search giant still needs to deliver a high quality product that naturally spreads throughout its user base if it’s going to have any chance of competing. Photo tagging is one feature that is extremely valuable for accomplishing exactly that. If Facebook is going to step up it’s efforts to protect itself from Google Plus, it would seem as though preventing the company from using photo tagging would be a logical step.
Source: allfacebook
