LARRY PAGE

Social networking phenomenon Google+ (or Google Plus), whose early growth has been meteoric, has finally hit turbulence - Web analytic firm Experian Hitwise said the site witnessed a drop in traffic growth and average usage time - but it still poses a threat to Facebook.

Eric Schmidt, the executive chairmen and former chief executive of search engine giant Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) will testify before Congress on September 21, reportedly to discuss the company?s business practices and competition.

Google's new social networking site, Google+, witnessed a dip in traffic growth, according to Experian Hitwise, which tracks Web traffic.

The Senate's antitrust panel has scheduled its hearing on Google Inc's use of its considerable market clout for mid-September, the Senate Judiciary Committee said in a brief statement on Thursday.

Google+ is poised to continue growing after a slowdown last week, but the inflection point highlights challenges it faces as it vies to enter the social space.

Google's social network Google+ set off to a roaring start within its first month of inception, but new data is showing that visits to the site are slowing down.

Oracle suffered a setback in its Java patents lawsuit against Google when a court rejected damage claims worth billions of dollars. Oracle had filed the lawsuit last year alleging that Google infringed Oracle's Java patents in the Android operating system. Google disputed the claims.

The elites of the Google+ exclusive club have tens of thousands of followers now, according to Social Statistics.

Google+ has seen dramatic growth since its launch, pulling in 20 million unique visitors within a month of its launch. But it faces several key challenges before it could become the dominant force in social media.

Google+ is seeing unparalleled growth, reaching broad audiences faster than any other digital property in history, but it remains to be seen whether Google can keep users coming back to its latest social foray.

In a sign of corporate maturity, Google is shutting the doors to its Google Labs innovation hub, and focusing its efforts onto core products, the company says.

Google's announcement on Wednesday to wind down Google Labs, the breeding ground for many of Google's most brilliant tools, raised questions for the future of innovation in Google and stirred up some unrest among Google's hard-core users.

The latest statistic on the number of Google+ users indicates it surpassed 18 million, and continues to grow.

Michael Lee Johnson, whose Google+ (or Google Plus) ad was banned by Facebook last week, has responded by deleting his Facebook profile.

Facebook has blocked ads by one of its users promoting Google+. Michael Lee Johnson says he is irritated by the move.

The Google+ (or Google Plus) fan page on Facebook says Facebook bans Google Plus Sponsored ads. A man recently ran an advertisement campaign for his Google+ profile and his account was suspended. Looks like facebook is scared to lose its throne - is Facebook really scared of Google+?

Google's social network has garnered its fair-share of buzz, but the inner workings have been pretty much a secret -- until now.

World's No.1 social networking site Facebook appears to have finally acknowledged the threat upstart Google+ (or Google Plus) poses, by taking down an offensive Google+ ad from its site.

Google's social network has garnered its fair share of buzz, but not much has been known about the inner workings of the site and the people on it -- until now.

The top users on Google+ have tens of thousands of followers now, according to Social Statistics, but the Facebook founder is perched atop of even Google founders, and it appears he's happy.

Google continues to wow the world, this time with some real pluses. In its Q2 earnings announcement, the search engine giant revealed that its revenue grew 30 percent year-on-year in the second quarter to $9.03 billion, according to the company's report released on Thursday. Google+ has gathered 10 million users in its first two weeks of beta test.