Google’s supposed to launch (or perhaps preview) a new social network at SXSW tonight, at an event co-hosted by the ACLU.  The organization, focused on privacy, indicates that Google’s revealing Circles, offering a social networking experience that puts privacy in its place.  According to ReadWriteWeb, the concept around Circles pulls contributions from a number of key initiatives and people that have shaped our current and broadly adopted privacy standards.

Chris Messina of BarCamp and Hashtags fame, along with the work of ex-Google social technology researcher Paul Adams, are cited as possible key contributors to the ideals behind Circles.  Google’s Piknik acquisition is also said to be looped into the Circles initiative, offering a definitive photo-editing aspect.  Trying to get the jump start on private social networking addresses a growing concern around Facebook and Twitter tactics, but also defies the current behavior trends around social networks.

With personal and private networks spilling into each other’s activity streams, it’s an issue that will have to be dealt with, in one way or another.  As Google seeks the best way to incorporate social factors into its search and myriad of products, Circles appears to be the latest in a string of socially-driven projects from Google’s loins.  The social “in” has already revolutionized search and marketing as we know it, and those are two precious commodities Google must protect.

Contending with Facebook and its partners, which include Microsoft, Google’s turning to the most accomplished minds in the industry.  But the talent-poaching has been a tit-for-tat that’s bounced between Google and Facebook for years.  Marketing around privacy is a multi-faceted effort that requires the right ingredients, and recipe.  Getting the timing right is cruical for obtaining the biggest hold on the market, and with the ecosystems Google, Facebook and Twitter have established, leveraging them will make all the difference moving forward.

Google’s got a broad platform that’s succeded in its jump-start on mobile-oriented developers, gringing out a new toehold for its search specter.  While Google’s social-specific efforts often falter, the company’s also been evolving a natural social pattern around its service extensions, such as Gmail, Maps and phone Contacts.  It’s a combo every social platform is after, though Twitter seems to be throwing its ecosystem off balance, bringing its developer activity to a halt.

The ultimate in private social platforms, LinkedIn, hasn’t nailed the social spin Facebook has amassed, nor does it have an extensive ecosystem to carry it beyond its pragmatic, profession-driven existence.  The ability to strike a balance for private social networks is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, carrying with it the potential for highly targeted marketing efforts, an easily adopted consumer product, and direct access to that consumer, bundled in a very personalized package.  The deep-peer into consumer behavior is a learning opportunity for the platform owner, with big data as its core form of revenue generation.

Expectations around big data’s future resides as this juncture of private and personal networking, and it’s something all the major players have been after for some time, seeking new ways to apply it to things like search ads.  As Google continues to experiment with its social ideals, we at least have an industry-wide opportunity to discuss trends around the private network, which will have to meet consumer demands as much as it must have a strong and secure infrastructure as its foundation.

In other SXSW news, Hurricane Party is raising funds to aid Japanese earthquake victims at Kenchi tonight.  See here for details.