The two most powerful sites according to popular rankings, and also two of the richest earners in the history of business, Google and Facebook are not your regular 1-and-2 or 5-and-6, actually they are more like cats and dogs. Google tops in-terms of search traffic whereas Facebook tops in-terms of unique visits.

Technology wonks run countless permutations to compare these hugely successful firms, and most often than not Google turns up at the top of the rankings…perhaps not for long. A common comparison is the page load time (PLT) of each site; Google has a faster PLT than Facebook. The reason for this is, Google is a search engine which returns text results by default (unless alternative search options are applied); speed has always been Google’s priority as it limits the sites bounce rate. Facebook on the other hand loads all forms of media (video, image, text, audio, etc.) by default, and yet doesn’t lag too far behind with regard to PLT. Hence, Facebook had to work on improving its algorithms to close the gap on Google, this will prove to be the tipping-point in the race for supremacy.

This comprehensive article illustrates plans by Facebook to “kill” Google in the near future, however, it leaves out a new dimension to the plot … publishing innovation!

The improved user interaction of Web 3.0 empowers the user to create more and more content; eventually web users will be publishers of some sort and will own rights to more than a few web contents. The newly launched “Instant Articles” by Facebook enables publishers to publish directly to Facebook with a new speed level that promises to beat Google’s current page load time. According to Chris Cox, Facebook Chief Product Officer, “Instant Articles lets them deliver fast, interactive articles while maintaining control of their content and business models.”

The threat is simple, "Instant Article" has promised to load a full article within four (4) seconds, meaning that the version of your article on Facebook will load faster than on your website. Your readers will notice the difference and prefer to read your article on Facebook…this will reduce the number of visitors to websites. As the pillars of Google include search advertising and partnership with website content owners via Google ads, Google makes more money from content on other websites. It is then a plausible assumption that Google will take a massive hit to its income as Facebook gains traction…there will probably be no way for Google to advertise on instant articles.

It’s no surprise that Facebook has gained mileage over Google in recent times, thanks to mega tech-fails such as the Google Glass and Google+, and history seems set to repeat itself. Innovate or die…as the saying goes.

The tech world in which they operate is damn too competitive. That's why they keep employing best brains to keep innovating in order not to die.

Facebook was predicted couple of years back that it was going to die because when people are done finding their friends on Facebook what else would they need Facebook for again. Today, the story is the opposite because they keep rolling out great and user centered features.

For me, Google has made life more easier than Facebook.

I am wishing them grater heights.

I hate Facebook. They blocked my account which i have tried to regain but without success. Always asking for my Id card. Unluckily, my date of birth didn't tally but I sent a message to them through the email account used in opening of the account to prove that an genuine. Yet, they refused to hand over.

Am done with Facebook for over 3 years now. I rather face instagram Nd twitter than Facebook.