Google's March Toward Social Networking

08.08.2010
Google this week its acquisition of online entertainment company . The purchase rehashed speculation that the search giant is interested in working its way into social media, possibly with a game-centered service called

Although there isn't any word on specific product details David Glazer, engineering director at Google confirms the company will invest more effort to make its services more "socially aware" in a recent .

This shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone. Google has repeatedly expressed interest in the past year, starting with the announcement of at the 2009 I/O Developer Conference.

If Google plans to dethrone Facebook (or at least become a contender in the world of social media) it needs to learn a few things from its past social endeavors, most of which haven't ended so well. However, it's clear that Google is keeping at this mission.

Here's a quick recap of Google's social media moves in 2010:

February 8: The reports Google prepared to unveil a that would display a stream of "media and status updates" within the web interface.