Last week, I talked to Punit Soni, who runs games and mobile for Google+, to get an update on Google’s plan for social games. Since the conversation took place before Facebook’s filing, Soni has no direct responses to the numbers.

But he addresses in general how Google expects to challenge Facebook’s dominance in social gaming, and the big opportunity in front of them to do something different.

“There’s no point in being in this game if we are a ‘me-too,’” he said. “We want to be different.”

Yesterday, in Facebook’s IPO filing we learned that substantially all of the company’s payments revenue is coming from virtual goods from inside social games, and that one game publisher alone — Zynga — is contributing 12 percent of the company’s revenue, payments and advertising included.

At those rates, it’s easy to see why Google is emphasizing games and wooing developers to its platform.

It started off with a bang in August, when it launched games. In talking to reporters, Soni announced the company was sharing 95 percent of the revenue from virtual goods with developers, and was keeping only 5 percent for itself.

That was, and remains, much more generous than the 30 percent cut that Facebook takes.

Still, with only 36 games on its network, and far fewer users (however you want to calculate it), Soni was pretty honest about how far they still have to go. He was also extremely enthusiastic, and at times looked as if he wanted to leap out of his chair to get going on some of the projects Google had planned.

First, and foremost, he said they are working hard to get virality right; and second, they want to nail cross-platform, so that games worked seamlessly across the Web and mobile.

Viral channels are the most common way for people to learn about a game, and also one of the most controversial.

More than a year ago, Facebook was forced to dial back those channels, because users complained about receiving too many unwanted messages.

“We err on the side of caution,” Soni said. “We are slowly giving more options to do things.”

Soni said they also see a big opportunity to differentiate by offering a multiplatform approach, and letting developers build games that work across Google+, Google’s Chrome Web Store and mobile. Of course, it has an advantage because of the millions of Android users, whereas Facebook’s mobile efforts are still nascent.

Already, there are some examples of cross-platform play.

Today, you can play Rovio’s Angry Birds and Bubble Witch Saga across both Google+ and the Chrome App Store, and can pick up where you left off between the two.

“These are not Google+ games, but games that are on Google,” Soni stressed. “A lot more is coming on mobile.”

Google has also focused on getting a number of games as exclusives that launch a few weeks on Google+ before they show up on Facebook. To date, it has scored at least three titles — including a major title, Kabam’s Godfather — and there are more coming.

Asked why the game developers are willing to go exclusively on Google+, Soni said there’s some marketing that Google is willing to put toward it, but otherwise, “they are betting on us.”

He says it’s mostly the potential of the platform, and the fact that he’s receptive to feedback, that helps him understand exactly what developers need. Developers also acknowledge that supporting more platforms is helpful in reaching more players and diversifying their risk.

“If they say it’s because the platform is the best ever — no, it’s not true. But the plans we have and the sensitivity that we have for our users and developers, we will be very good sometime soon. … That’s why you are seeing exclusives.”

Soni wasn’t wiling to spill specific plans about what was launching next, but said a lot more is coming.

“We are a start-up platform. We are humble and know our flaws. As we grow, you’ll see new things. My work has barely started,” he said.

Here is the very funny opening video for the premiere of late-night host Conan O’Brien’s new talk show on TBS.

It’s got a “Godfather”/”Mad Men”/Larry King tone.

Exactly.

The first line of O’Brien’s monologue was about his Web popularity: “Thank you and welcome to my second annual first show. Yes, I know what you guys are thinking–’Hey, it’s the guy from Twitter.’”

It is indeed, and BoomTown could not be more thrilled he is back on television:

The increasingly entertaining online content site, The Daily Beast, edited by Tina Brown, is getting very good at putting together juicy collections.

Besides one on “Seven Great Talk-Show Trainwrecks” recently, it has cued up a nice group of videos of past Oscar speeches in anticipation of the 81st annual awards show this weekend, analyzing what works and what does not.

The piece, by Dale Hrabi, includes a range of stars in action and inaction, with some good tips for those who are about to receive the hallowed little golden naked man.

It boils down to: Shut up and show some humility (neither of which is a Hollywood character trait).

Here are my two faves, one a do (Audrey Hepburn in 1954 with a classy and short thank you for Best Actress in “Roman Holiday”) and, of course, a big don’t (“Sacheen Littlefeather,” actually named Maria Cruz, not accepting the Oscar in 1973 for Marlon Brando for Best Actor in “The Godfather”).

Audrey Hepburn:

Sacheen Littlefeather:

Starting Tuesday this week, all the major players in the Yahoo-Microsoft-Everyone-And-Their-Mother circus will line their private jets up in Sun Valley for the high-powered 26th annual Allen & Co. confab of tech and media moguls.

Specifically, that would be bigwigs from Microsoft (Co-Founder Bill Gates, deal guy Hank “Hankrosoft” Vigil), Yahoo (CEO Jerry Yang and President Sue Decker), News Corp. (Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch), Time Warner (CEO Jeff Bewkes, who runs the conglomerate that owns AOL), as well as Google (the three amigos: Co-Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, along with CEO Eric Schmidt).

It could be like that five families sitdown in the “Godfather” movies, except none of the parties can even seem to metaphorically whack each other, as the Yahoo saga drags on interminably.

While BoomTown’s invitation seems to have been lost in the mail–Herb Allen Trois, what gives, Walt and I invited you to our conference! We’re too mean for your pampered poobahs, right?–so we can’t give you an on-the-ground report.

But the Allen & Co. event might be the perfect place to finally make a deal–any deal–this situation surely needs.

So to help, here is BoomTown’s unsolicited advice for the players of this messy mess.

YAHOO: Clearly, Yahoo (YHOO) needs a big break from the drama–and a good first step is to stop its own silly deal-making antics.

First off, the company needs to stop leaking about an AOL merger deal, because it has a been-there-done-that quality that now looks more like a way to look busy.

But it remains a bad idea and feels desperate and employees still don’t like it.

More to the point, there is probably only one true option right now–Yahoo needs to quickly make a deal with Microsoft to outsource its ad search business and/or ad search business.

In addition, spinning in assets from News Corp. (NWS), like MySpace, is not the worst idea and could be a way to juice up social networking on the site.

After all, more top Yahoo employees will soon be headed out the door, unless there is a significant change of direction and, probably, leadership soon.

MICROSOFT: Oh, get over it.

Microsoft (MSFT) is not going to catch up to Google (GOOG) without Yahoo’s search share and that’s that.

It’s not going to be able to grow it organically (Project Granola!), it’s not going to get there with AOL and it’s not going to get there wishin’ and a-hopin’ Google will stumble.

At this point–though it seems juicy to wait as Yahoo’s shares drift downward and as the company moves to its annual meeting and a likely ugly proxy fight with activist investor Carl Icahn looms–waiting is a mistake as it only damages an asset Microsoft should value.

While Microsoft and Yahoo are periodically talking, they also periodically get in snits with each other–the latest due to Microsoft pique over Yahoo’s posting of a regulatory presentation dissing the software giant (see one such slide below; click on it to make it larger).

As I said, get over it.

NEWS CORP./AOL: Make a deal, any deal.

While News Corp. (owner of Dow Jones and of this site) wrinkled its nose over Yahoo’s one-time offer of $4 billion for MySpace (it wanted $8 billion), despite a commitment by News Corp. of also investing $3 billion in Yahoo, if it should do all it can to spin its social networking site out.

Why? With Facebook pressing on MySpace’s momentum, a pending new music service that could use Yahoo’s massive traffic and the plus of being an independent company to compete better, such a move for News Corp. makes a lot of sense.

For AOL, a need for a deal is clear–a dwindling property with some good assets that cannot and should not live within Time Warner. If it gets anywhere north of $8 billion, Time Warner (TWX) should jump at the chance.

GOOGLE: It’s in Google’s best interest to keep the soap opera going, of course. As this situation has developed, it has only underscored exactly how dominant the search giant is.

And, more importantly, just how dangerous to all the rest gathered there Google truly has become.

So, if Larry, Sergey and Eric offer to help the other players work it all out over a roaring campfire, they should all consider themselves warned.

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.