Google Broadens Its Social Networking Arsenal With SocialDeck

If capitalism is geared toward centralization, Google seems bent on creating a feudal world order with its intense acquisition of almost every service out there.  In a not-so-surprising business move Google has made five major software purchases in the last month, making August just another station where Google extends its reach into almost every digital market.  The newest line up in the Google arsenal is SocialDeck, which has stood out as an interesting company that is developing games to be played between iPhone and other smart phone users in a way that is really trying to unite the unique features of mobile gaming, smart phones, and social networking.  

SocialDeck has utilized the unique synthesis that is occurring between mobile gaming and social networking by allowing connectivity not just between the mobile devices, but also between them and computers via the social networking tool Facebook.  This may be part of the further social networking infection that has taken place on mobile devices marked by the recent announcement that the iPhone hit 100 million Facebook users through their device.  SocialDeck's games like Color Connect and Pet Hero draw on some of the themes that have been incredibly popular on the iPhone and social networking sites and melds them together in a remarkably new way, and you can note its innovation by Google's interest in this small gaming company.

SocialDeck has specialized in integrating social networking features at all levels of their games, including direct tie ins to Facebook as well as "friending" features and leaderboards.  It has become standard to spell out your gaming progress through social networking servies like Facebook or Twitter, but most of these are dedicated to simply publishing this news on your feed.  This is part of the social networking obsession with the constant display of your life activities, and apparently how you do on various iPhone RPGs is considered equally important.  Instead of just replicating this functionality, SocialDeck actually allows Facebook apps of games like Shake and Spell used against those on a Blackberry or iPhone.  This is a major step forward, but a logical one that Google could see as being the direct next step in iPhone game development.

What this also seems to show is that Google is dropping its chips on the social networking game, so to speak.  It has been stated that the general staff from SocialDeck will be working with those from Angstro, which is small company acquired by Google.  Angstro's main contribution was the social networking tool Noteworthy News that allows for professional information to come in through a standard network system.  What this may indicate is Google's intent to not just maintain the products that SocialDeck and Angstro have been developing, but instead to unite them to try and create a wholly new set of social networking tools that will further burrow their way into the social consciousness.  This is not even to mention Slide and Jambool, both newly acquired Google companies that have made major contributions into the broad umbrella of social networking.

Now that the whale has swallowed them whole there is good indication that Google is going to continue to behave as a behemoth and will end up driving the game development on the coming generations of iPhone and smart phone software.