Digg Founder, Kevin Rose posted this on his Twitter account recently:

Ok, umm, huge rumor: Google to launch Facebook competitor very soon “Google Me”, very credible source

While he labels it as a huge rumor, he is not somebody who would throw stuff in the air without any concrete support. So is Google really launching a new social service that could kill Facebook? The answer is both Yes and No. Facebook is as strong in the social media market as Google is in the search engine market. It would be nearly impossible for a new comer to move either of them from their respective positions. However, there is another very interesting option Google has.

As The Next Web reports, Google’s social network Orkut is still used by over 100 Million users worldwide and while Google Buzz failed to meet users’ expectations, it has another tens of millions of users. If Google launches a new service by combining these two, it can have half of Facebook’s traffic i.e. 250 Million users in no time.  Throw in improved privacy features and a half decent interface and many users would leave Facebook for an alternative, specially if it is backed by a brand like Google.

Do you think Google will succeed if it launches a serious  competitor  to Facebook?

[Via SFWeekly]