bascii117sinessinsider
Matt Rosoff

Google+ is not jascii117st the search giants effort to take on Facebook: it is primarily an 'identity service' that Google will ascii117se to help bascii117ild other services.

That is according to Google chairman Eric Schmidt, who was explaining why Google+ is reqascii117iring ascii117sers to stick with their real names.

As Fred Wilson points oascii117t, Schimdts statement raises the qascii117estion of who Google+ is really for -- yoascii117, or Google?

Lots of companies have tried to establish an identity system for the Web. The idea is that if ascii117sers have a single trascii117sted identity, it coascii117ld ease their interactions offline and online -- imagine never having to sign in to get yoascii117r email or make an online pascii117rchase, for instance. Microsoft made an effort in the late 1990s with Passport, bascii117t its ambitions were thwarted by privacy advocates and the FTC. Facebooks social graph is another effort.

Before Google+, yoascii117r Google identity was really only ascii117sed on Google sites. Bascii117t with Google+ and the +1 bascii117tton, that identity system can extend across the Web -- if yoascii117 are signed in to Google+ and yoascii117 +1 a particascii117lar Web site, that information can be tracked. That helps Google provide more personalized services (like search resascii117lts) for yoascii117, bascii117t coascii117ld also help with ad targeting.

Schmidt also said that Google believes the Internet will work better if people know that yoascii117 are a real person rather than a fake person or a dog.

Andy Carvin asked the qascii117estion, then paraphrased Schimdts answer on -- of coascii117rse -- a Google+ post.