This week's memo, if legitimate, seems to indicate that Page wants Google to dive head-first into social networking. And he wants every single employee working in that same direction.

And he has good motivation as a major rival.

Facebook, with more than 500 million users, is the largest social networking site in the world. That alone is a threat to Google, which wants users to spend their time on Google sites.

"This is the biggest threat to them -- being disrupted by Facebook," said Gillis. "I think Microsoft is attacking the existing business but the real disruption in future business comes from Facebook."

In a management reorganization this week, Page named Vic Gundotra, a former Microsoft general manager, as Google's senior vice president of social.