Driving and listening to Rob Black today compared Google to his father… Meaning Google is unhip and doesn’t know how to mix it up with the younger generation. Now, I’m 36 and feel a little depressed that I’m out of the 18-35 range, but I still feel that I know a lot about the internet. Of course, not as much as Google, but I find it funny that Rob basically called them out because Google Buzz is a flop.
He makes perfect sense, and it’s easy to see that Google is trying so hard to grab what Facebook and Twitter have seemed to nailed, social interaction, and social search. What peers are talking about and the information peers share amongst each other.
I was really disappointed when Google’s flagship social product “OpenSocial” died. It’s still around, but has no heartbeat. Since the group turned to a big spam board I called it quits. Now that I think about it, Google groups could be a really good social network, but gets no focus from Google and most groups eventually fade away.
OpenSocial was to compete with facebook apps, but on an open front. Opensocial would allow you to create apps for any social network. Sounded cool, but Google seems to think you can release a product and then let the buzz carry that product… Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way and Google has yet another social product get a lot of notice and then it fades.
So, is Rob black right?
Is Google relatively old?
Are they relatively old enough to be unhip and not able to connect with the new generations of Internet users?
What will Google look like in 5 years? They want to advertise in pretty much every medium realm known to man… So, I think they are going to just be a huge advertising company. they already are huge, but not known for it.
I personally think think Rob is onto something… I’ve talked about this with my friends and we all seem to agree that the search results from Google are getting worse and worse. Recently trying to find a tutorial for a simple Flash application, I was finding results dated back to 2004, not one or two, but half of the first page search results… 6 year old results for a product that has evolved many times in that period. Those search results are absolutely useless.
I do find it easier to just Tweet the question, or post to Facebook and let someone guide me the answer. Google better figure out how to do that or else there cherished Pagerank algorithm will be nothing more the dusty old media, like newspapers and magazines.
The fact is old media is not dying, it’s the medium to which they use is dying. The cost to print and distribute newspapers to a shrinking subscription group is obviously not working. It still amazes me that I see newspaper salesmen outside of Safeway by my house. “Free paper today?” he says, and I just wonder if he knows me? I see him probably 3 times a week… and I never see anyone taking the free paper. Sad thing is, I do read the news, but online. He should, and probably will eventually, try to sell premium content on the website of the newspaper. I do read the paper when I’m in a coffee shop waiting for a drink. I just hate clutter in my house and if I have newspapers coming daily Iwill end up having a huge pile of paper in some corner.
