Google's chief executive Larry Page has taken a swipe at Facebook and Apple, claiming the giant social network is "doing a really bad job on their products" and that the iPhone maker's limited range of products is "unsatisfying".
In an interview with Wired magazine, carried out last year before Facebook had launched its new Graph Search tool, Page, 39, tells Steven Levy that he wants the company he co-founded to come up with ideas that are "moon shots" – such as the self-driving car now being introduced in some American states – and that he isn't worried about breaking laws in some cases if the result is a better product.
He is also critical of the technology press, saying that "stories are written as if they [journalists] are covering a sporting event. But it's hard to find actual examples of really amazing things that happened solely due to competition."
In a swipe at Facebook, he says that although it is a company that is strong in the social space, "they're also doing a really bad job on their products … we're actually doing something different [from Facebook]. I think it's outrageous to say that there's only space for one company in these areas." He compares it with the point at which Google started as a search company in 1997 and was told the market was crowded because other businesses already offered it. "We said, 'We are a search company, but we're doing something different.'"
Though he doesn't specify what aspect of Facebook's products is "really bad", Page may be hinting at the problems the social network has had over privacy settings – an area with which Google is familiar, having been bound over for 20 years by the Federal Trade Commission for failing to respect users' privacy when it set up its Google Buzz network in 2010.
Many people see Google+ as Google's attempt to build a rival social network to Facebook, although it works more as a "glue" that ties together users' searches and activity across multiple Google sites – though it also offers Facebook friend-like "Circles" to connect to friends and others.
In an interview with Wired magazine, carried out last year before Facebook had launched its new Graph Search tool, Page, 39, tells Steven Levy that he wants the company he co-founded to come up with ideas that are "moon shots" – such as the self-driving car now being introduced in some American states – and that he isn't worried about breaking laws in some cases if the result is a better product.
He is also critical of the technology press, saying that "stories are written as if they [journalists] are covering a sporting event. But it's hard to find actual examples of really amazing things that happened solely due to competition."
In a swipe at Facebook, he says that although it is a company that is strong in the social space, "they're also doing a really bad job on their products … we're actually doing something different [from Facebook]. I think it's outrageous to say that there's only space for one company in these areas." He compares it with the point at which Google started as a search company in 1997 and was told the market was crowded because other businesses already offered it. "We said, 'We are a search company, but we're doing something different.'"
Though he doesn't specify what aspect of Facebook's products is "really bad", Page may be hinting at the problems the social network has had over privacy settings – an area with which Google is familiar, having been bound over for 20 years by the Federal Trade Commission for failing to respect users' privacy when it set up its Google Buzz network in 2010.
Many people see Google+ as Google's attempt to build a rival social network to Facebook, although it works more as a "glue" that ties together users' searches and activity across multiple Google sites – though it also offers Facebook friend-like "Circles" to connect to friends and others.
Although Vic Gundotra of Google has claimed it has 500m registered users – compared with more than a billion for Facebook – many of those appear to have come about through default settings rather than active creation of accounts, as happens on Facebook. Even Google's own data suggests that engagement is comparatively low, with about 125m using it regularly. Google has not broken out specific data about how many people use the social elements of Google+ to share information every day or month – meaning no simple comparison can be made with Facebook.
But Page says of Google+: "I'm very happy with how it has gone … a lot of it has been copied by our competitors, so I think we're doing a good job." He doesn't specify what parts have been copied.
Of Apple, Page suggests that it lacks ambition to change the world. "You know, we always have these debates: we have all this money, we have all these people, why aren't we doing more stuff? You may say that Apple only does a very, very small number of things, and that's working pretty well for them. But I find that unsatisfying."
But Page says of Google+: "I'm very happy with how it has gone … a lot of it has been copied by our competitors, so I think we're doing a good job." He doesn't specify what parts have been copied.
Of Apple, Page suggests that it lacks ambition to change the world. "You know, we always have these debates: we have all this money, we have all these people, why aren't we doing more stuff? You may say that Apple only does a very, very small number of things, and that's working pretty well for them. But I find that unsatisfying."
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