Houston Real Estate Blog

From the category archives:

Social Networking

Can Google+ Do it?

September 27, 2011

Can they steal you away from Facebook? Or is it too late? Will Google+ end up pulling the plug?

I personally think Google+ is too late to play in the ball game; they should have been there 2 years ago when Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were getting fired up.

Facebook has become a household “Digital Brand Name,” just like Coca-Cola and Pepsi. The popular social-networking service is promoted everywhere – TV, news channels, businesses, the list goes on. It will be extremely difficult for Google+ to gain a share of the market, especially when people are still figuring out Facebook and have built up their fan base and friends list. It would be like hitting the reset button and starting over. I don’t think many people are up for that. The people I’ve talked to have said, “Oh, another social media site to keep up with, why?” It’s sort of like saying, Google will start bottling and selling soft drinks?!?

Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter connected the dots and created the standards in social media. They got the bandwagon rolling 2 years ago and now Google+ wants to jump on the fast-moving wagon? From my perspective, if Google+ wants to play ball, they are going to have to create a new bandwagon, but that will be challenging.

However, competition is healthy and necessary! It creates better products and user-friendly platforms. Facebook is about to launch an entire new platform in the next coming weeks, and I am sure that Google was their inspiration. Facebook already has implemented a few features that Google+ has, such as the “lists” which Google+ calls “circles.”

I am a digital marketer myself, and I personally like Google+ better. But where are the fans and your friends? It’s not happening here yet. Additionally, new users to social media will more than likely set up an account on Facebook because that’s where their friends and family are.

Google has their challenges cut out for them. Perhaps if Google can develops a killer business platform, that might help with their bandwagon. Only time will tell — and time in the digital world is only 1 day away.

Overall, Google + is an impressive product and it’s forcing Facebook to innovate faster (and respect people’s privacy a little more) which is good for everyone. This infographic provides some interesting statistics and visual data on the social network showdown between Facebook and Google +

CLICK IMAGE FOR FULL SIZE

Infographic by the creative people at Single Grain.

Interview with an Expat on Moving to Houston

October 17, 2010

By: Michelle Sandlin
Director of Global Relocation Services

Tim Hartley

I recently had the opportunity to visit with Tim Hartley, an Expat from the U.K. who relocated to Houston with his family earlier this year. We are both members of the British American Business Council (BABC) Houston, as well as members of its All StARS Group, which meets monthly for breakfast to discuss business opportunities and ways in which we can help each other from a business and personal standpoint. I always enjoy speaking with Tim and hearing how he and his family are adapting to life in Houston, and thought it would make for an interesting post on my Houston Relocation Blog.

Tim works for Harvey Nash International Search organization, which was established over 20 years ago and has grown to be a distinctive force in international Executive Search and Leadership Services across the key territories of North America, Europe and Scandinavia. Tim leads Harvey Nash’s Global Energy and Infrastructure Practice, which accounts for their business in Energy and Utilities, Transportation and Civil Infrastructure. Their clients include some of the largest multinationals worldwide and also specialist start-ups in the high technology sectors.

During our candid conversation, Tim shared quite a bit with me about his move to Houston and the impact it has had on him professionally and on his family personally. Here are the highlights from our conversation.

What was the reason for your move to Houston?

He said that it was a mutual decision between him and his employer, Harvey Nash. According to Tim, “We saw an opportunity to develop our international energy and utility practice in the United States and specifically in Houston. It was an existing business that we had, where we didn’t have a focus on Houston, which is the largest market that is open to us from an energy perspective. I was chosen and also volunteered for coming over here and setting this business up for us.”

When you first arrived, what was the most challenging thing for you and/or your family?

From a professional standpoint, Time said, “It was challenging to develop the deep relationships that are needed to succeed in business here. It is very much a relationship driven environment where people tend to go with what they know. So being an existing organization with a strong track record didn’t mean as much as being the person who has always done it for a particular company.” On a personal level, Tim said there are a lot of things to do when you move to a different country, especially like the U.S., such as new schools, doctors, dentists, social security numbers, driver’s license. Then there are little things like not knowing what stores to go to when you need something specific. Tim said, “What we have found is that everyone that we have come in contact with has been friendly, has been helpful and supportive of what we are trying to do.” He said that fortunately too, there is a really strong Expat community from which they have been able to draw support in Houston.

What was your first impression of Houston?

“Everything takes longer to get to than you think it should because of traffic and the fact that you are covering some fairly large distances to go someplace that seems comparatively close,” Tim said.

What do you like best about living in Houston?

He said that he likes the weather this time of year. More specifically, Tim said, “I like the fact that I can get home at a sensible time to see my children. I like the sense of opportunity here, and while it’s a challenge to break into this market I feel that once you have, that people start to recognize and respect the things that you do for them. If you live up to your word and live up to the things you say you are going to deliver, then people really respect that.” Tim said that there is also the commute time, which is 3 miles compared to 3 hours on a train round trip back home.