Zynga on Google+

In the early 2000s, Microsoft had a marketing campaign centered around the question: what do you want to do today?

Unfortunately, nothing they offered could actually help you do anything you might have wanted. Google could, though, and by combining intent with advertising, made the internet safe for B2C companies again. Hooray!

However, Google could not help you if what you wanted to do today was "waste time". If you have no intent, the empty search box is a barrier. Facebook filled this void by offering all kinds of diversions for the directionless, and Zynga built an empire of diversion for the directionless who grew tired of their friends Facebook updates.

I don't know how much of Facebook's "usage" comes from Zynga, but I'm pretty sure it's material. I haven't tried Google+ yet because of the inane way they are currently handling Picasa integration, but if Zynga moves to Google+, then Google can now help you if "what you want to do today" is "kill time".