InfoWorld's Neil McAllister new article Are Google's Best Days Behind It is on point.
The article cites growing bureaucracy, lack of privacy measures, legal issues, and slowing product development.
I agree with a lot of the points made in this article but I would say... maybe this isn't such a bad thing.
Google's core search engine product is what made Google great. The only-what-you-need and nothing else design combined with magically accurate search results is what launched Google. Some of the new offshoot projects are redundant (Google+) or barely interesting (Google Wave).
Additionally, Google has been unable to develop its long standing consumer products into full-featured enterprise solutions.
I know many of you read this and say, "hey there! I love my Goolge INSERT FAVORITE GOOGLEY THING HERE". I understand. But in order to illustrate my point let's talk through two examples, Gmail for business and Google Voice.
Business email should do the following things:
- access to sent emails, received emails, and email folders regardless of the access method (desktop client, smart phone, website, etc.)
- keep your contacts synced on all devices
- calendar sync on all devices and ability to delegate access
This bare minimum set of features isn't quite available in Gmail. Gmail is an POP/IMAP only solution whose tagging method of order doesn't work well with productivity email clients that use folder based organization.
Google Voice is another solution that is not quite enterprise class, but great for home consumers. The lack of phone trees, ring groups, and call schedules make it an exclusively consumer application. And when you are ready to move to another solution, well, investigate porting your # out of Google Voice. Google the topic and you may eventually find the one obscure (non-Google) blog that details the multi-part process you'll need to follow.
Slowing development, especially if it means more innovation on their core products and a getting back to the minimalist yet functional M.O. that made them great, sounds anything but the end of the Glory Days. Maybe it's what happens when you enter the wonderful world of adulthood... less experimentation, more appreciation and focus on the things that make you great.
The article cites growing bureaucracy, lack of privacy measures, legal issues, and slowing product development.
I agree with a lot of the points made in this article but I would say... maybe this isn't such a bad thing.
Google's core search engine product is what made Google great. The only-what-you-need and nothing else design combined with magically accurate search results is what launched Google. Some of the new offshoot projects are redundant (Google+) or barely interesting (Google Wave).
Additionally, Google has been unable to develop its long standing consumer products into full-featured enterprise solutions.
I know many of you read this and say, "hey there! I love my Goolge INSERT FAVORITE GOOGLEY THING HERE". I understand. But in order to illustrate my point let's talk through two examples, Gmail for business and Google Voice.
Business email should do the following things:
- access to sent emails, received emails, and email folders regardless of the access method (desktop client, smart phone, website, etc.)
- keep your contacts synced on all devices
- calendar sync on all devices and ability to delegate access
This bare minimum set of features isn't quite available in Gmail. Gmail is an POP/IMAP only solution whose tagging method of order doesn't work well with productivity email clients that use folder based organization.
Google Voice is another solution that is not quite enterprise class, but great for home consumers. The lack of phone trees, ring groups, and call schedules make it an exclusively consumer application. And when you are ready to move to another solution, well, investigate porting your # out of Google Voice. Google the topic and you may eventually find the one obscure (non-Google) blog that details the multi-part process you'll need to follow.
Slowing development, especially if it means more innovation on their core products and a getting back to the minimalist yet functional M.O. that made them great, sounds anything but the end of the Glory Days. Maybe it's what happens when you enter the wonderful world of adulthood... less experimentation, more appreciation and focus on the things that make you great.
- Erin Kelley
Simply Smart Technology
Very well written article! I agree with most everything. Yet still a fan of Google. My biggest gripe with Google is privacy. They know everything about me!
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