Google to Make Its Core Products More Social

mashable.com — Google will most probably launch its social network, dubbed Google Me, later this year. However, the secretive project might be more of an added social layer to Googles existing products and services than an entirely new service.Were trying to take Googles core products and add a social component, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said at the Google Zeitgeist conference on Tuesday.Rumors about Google building a Facebook competitor became slightly more convincing back in August, when Google acquired ngstr, a service that brings intelligent search results on someones professional network, as well as social app company Slide.Now, however, Google Me is shaping to be more like Buzz, in the sense that it will integrate with Googles existing popular services such as email and Googles most important product search.If you think about it, its obvious. With your permission, knowing more about who your friends are, we can provide more tailored recommendations. Search quality can get better, Schmidt said.Hearing these words coming out of Schmidts mouth must be a a huge confidence booster for Facebook. If social networking is so important for search, well, Facebook has already solved that part of the equation. If Googles social networking efforts fail, Google may become desperate to partner up with Facebook.Note that Schmidt was very careful to mention users permission. Google Buzz made Gmail social, but it also caused a backlash from users who simply didnt like the fact that some of their email-related info is now shared with other users.Itll be interesting to see how Google plans to make its services more social without making the same mistakes again.Reviews: Facebook, Gmail, Google, Google BuzzMore About: eric schmidt, Google, social networkingFor more Tech coverage:Follow Mashable Tech on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Tech channelDownload our free apps for iPhone and iPad Sep 15, 2010 View in Crawl 4