Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg called out Apple and Amazon as Facebook allies, and Google as a competitor on Monday's interview with Charlie Rose.
Zuckerberg told Rose that Amazon and Apple are aligned with Facebook. “We have a lot of conversations with people at both companies just trying to figure out ways that we can do more together, and there is just a lot of reception there," he said, according to AllThingsD. “Google, I think, in some ways is more competitive and certainly is trying to build their own little version of Facebook."
Are those fighting words? Is Zuckerberg throwing down the gauntlet and wants Google to start swinging?
Google, notoriously loath to comment on opinion or speculation -- much less insults, was cornered by at least one intrepid reporter, Emily Chang from Bloomberg West, who asked Bradley Horowitz, Google's vice president of product management, about Zuckerberg's comment as Horowitz was on air hawking Google's new Google+ brand pages for businesses.
"We are delighted to be underestimated, it's served us very well to date and that's fine by us," he said. "I'm not going to clear that up."
After further pressing by Chang, and Horowitz doggedly staying on Google+ pages message, finally said, "We're transforming the Google experience, but pitting the companies against each other, it sure sells advertising and clicks."
So are Facebook and Google officially enemies in a seemingly endless tech war? If so, with Google's past history of not commenting on rumor or gossip, it may be an unexciting war to watch.
