Google's desire to become a more prominent player in the world of social networking is well known. The recent news that Google was acquiring Plannr - a social networking startup - provides further evidence that Google remains hard at work on its social networking goals. But, how exactly does Plannr fit in with Google' strategy?Plannr has built a social calendering service that allows people to replace emails with a newsfeed based system for coordinating social activities Previous reports have suggested that Google plans to make real-life social networking a central piece of its social strategy. Given that Plannr provides a service to small groups of people coordinating real life events, a fit between Plannr and Google seems strong.
I have previously written that Google is likely to anchor itself around Android as it tries to take on Facebook which does not have a similar asset. Plannr, with is iPhone App, mobile site and SMS interface seems clearly focused on the mobile space. Thus, Plannr's existing assets and expertise, look well aligned with Google's strategy.
Finally, there is potential for combining game mechanics and social games with Plannr's social calendaring service. For example, Google could extend the Plannr service to allow "checkins" (ala foursquare, gowalla) for social groups. Groups that checkin often or those that exceed a certain size, get freebies - say discounts on movie tickets. Similarly, Google's existing social games are probably better coordinated for real friends if a calendering service is integrated with the games. Given Google's increasing experience with social gaming, mashing together social calendaring with games is appealing.
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