Facebook may work with Google
2008-05-29 09:30
Carlsbad - Social networking wunderkind Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, said on Wednesday he envisions one day working with search leader Google Inc in some way.
More specifically, Google's industry-leading internet search engine and its social networks, which include Orkut, are the "pieces outside of what Facebook does" that could become part of the Facebook platform, he said.
Any relationship between Google and Facebook could cause a problem for Microsoft, which owns about 1.6% of Facebook and whose investment helped to set a $15bn value for the company.
"We talk to Google all the time," Zuckerberg said on Wednesday during an appearance at the All Things D conference. "They do a lot of interesting things, and it would be good to work with them on some things."
A Google representative didn't respond to a request for comment. A Microsoft spokesperson couldn't be reached for comment.
Zuckerberg also said on Wednesday that Facebook has attracted 300 000 developers to create software programs that could be used by other Facebook participants.
That army of developers is arguably the largest of all the social networks, including MySpace, which is owned by News Corp. This could give Facebook a distinct advantage, given the programs developers are creating give Facebook users more to do.
"It's ramped very quickly," he said.