Google and Facebook are at it yet again. Ever since Google+ launched, the two social networks have been trying to out maneuver each other any chance they get. Whether it be Facebook announcing video chat just weeks after Google+ launched with ‘Hangouts,’ Google+ offering Facebook-like games, or Facebook responding to Google+ games the same day… the two companies aren’t holding any punches. And today it escalated even more.

Google Questions Facebook On To The Blocking Of G+ Invites On Facebook

Today a video was posted showing a Google+ invitation posted on Facebook that wouldn’t show up in the Facebook news feed: This video also shared by Vic Gundorta, senior Vice President of social media at Google and Bradley Horowitz, Vice President of Product Management at Google, told the Daily Beast:

“Users are curious, and they’re asking us if we know about this. We’re interested to find out if this is an anomaly or if this is a consistent experience for users. It could just be a bug. It’s impossible for us to know.”

In addition to Horowitz’s comment the Daily Beast also reports that an unnamed Google Executive stated:

“Your other messages or links you post get delivered fine … But for some reason this one isn’t getting through.”

Facebook commented that they could not replicate the issue and that the the system is designed to block spam which may have contributed in some cases. Facebook also stated:

“links have a history of the most abuse and are given the most scrutiny. As a result of all of these factors, a given link may be shown or filtered to people differently at different times.”

Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan tried to share his Google+ invites, and the link was successfully shared (after a minor mishap with the submit window):

Facebook On Google: “They Don’t Have Any Users”

Last week, Google+ announced the addition of games, to which Facebook quickly retorted with the announcement of gaming upgrades. Now Facebook is taking aim at Google’s foray into gaming. Facebook’s Director of Game Partnerships, Sean Ryan, compared Google+ to McDonald’s push into the premium coffee space, implying that they were trying to take away marketshare from industry leaders. Sean then went on to state:

“Google is at 5% because they don’t have any users”

Some of the animosity may be coming from the fact that Facebook reportedly takes 30% from game developers while Google+ is only taking 5% (the number referenced in the quote. )

Related Topics: Facebook | Google: Google+

About The Author: Greg Finn is the Chief Marketing Officer for Cypress North, a company that specializes in social media and search marketing services and web-based application development. He has been in the Internet marketing industry for 6+ years and specializes in Social Media Marketing. You can also find Greg on Twitter (@gregfinn) or LinkedIn. See more articles by Greg Finn

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