Why Google's New Products Need Not Succeed

RJS writes "There have been some industry analysts lately who have called into question Google's real success, claiming that while Google's search remains a big winner, it has missed the mark when it comes to generating profitable, secondary products. BusinessWeek has just such an article ("So much fanfare, so few hits") but others argue that success relative to the size of Google's bread-and-butter (search) ultimately doesn't matter because it doesn't cost Google much extra to keep these secondary services — like Gmail — operational: the Google grid is on and growing regardless of what services are being run on top of it."

MalaMata.com to upgrade Google (Near Topic)

[maxpow]

MalaMata.com [malamata.com] is a cool DHTML application that really upgrades the use of Google IMHO.

it does matter

[Anonymous Coward]

when/if critical mass of semi-successful projects creates perception of google having lots its edge, the fickle internet population will turn away on a dime. happened to altavista, yahoo and no doubt can happen to google.

Re:So wait.

[slindseyusa]

They won't charge. They don't need to. You use it, they get to show you ads (their main revenue stream) AND use your data later with advanced data mining techniques so they can sell aggregate data on users. The more users the better.

Re:So wait.

[babbling]

Why would they? They're already making tonnes off their ads. They'd probably make less money if they started asking for a fee.

Re:Hmmm... maybe?

[theStorminMormon]

I think you're crazy if you think Yahoo! Mail is better than Gmail. I have two accounts for each. My first web-based email account was Yahoo!, so I've been with them for a very long time.

The reasons I like GMail so much better are:

1. I got on board early (admittedly not a design feature) so I got the names I wanted
2. Better GUI - simpler, more powerful
3. Integration with awesome products that involve sharing I love being able to share Google Calenders with my wife. We each have a personal calender and we share a calender for stuff we do together - and it all shows up (color-coded) on one display. It's brilliant. We use Google Spreadsheet for simple budget tracking as well.

Yahoo is #1 because of the head-start, that's it.

-stormin

Bombshell

[quokkapox]

Google has an ace in the hole: the reverse of the Net Neutrality extortion scheme. First they get everybody to use all their free services, Google account, calendar, mail, search history, desktop search, etc. And then Google says to the big ISPs, hey, your customers want to jack in to our distributed computing network? Better pay up! $x.xx per user per month. Guaranteed revenue from the big telcos/cable companies, the ISPs have to run the billing and collection operations while Google just rakes in the bucks.

...but that would be sort of evil.

Re:Funny thing

[WindBourne]

The difference being that Firefox had to build a new brand. Yes, the internals are mozilla, but mozilla pretty much killed its name 5-8 years earlier. Firefox is working on creating a brand name in a very saturated market.

Nice thing for Google, is that although they are the new player on the block (vs. yahoo, aol, MS, etc), they have a superior reputation to all the other players. They just have to capitalize on that (i.e. no crap products that take their name down).

They're already evil.

[krell]

"but that would be sort of evil."

They're already evil. Why else would they be retaining personally-identifiable search information? So far, they've refused to divulge it. But a change in company policy or a court-order could change that. (It's like the library information controversy in the PATRIOT Act arguments: once you've returned the books, why should the library retain any sort of record of your past book checkouts AT ALL????)

Huh. Shameless self-promotion?

[SanityInAnarchy]

I always wondered whether Google ever considered just throwing a link on their homepage occasionally, when they really want people to read something. I mean, sure, it would be immeasurably worse than a Slashdotting, but even something like the Net Neutrality stuff.

I doubt they would actually do it, though. A large advantage Google has over the competition is that they are at least perceived as a commons -- anyone can buy Google adspace, and it has nothing to do with their relationship with Google and everything to do with statistical analysis -- PageRank.

Goodwill.

[Tracer_Bullet82]

A good business is beyond just direct and immediate cashflow/revenues of one/a particular products.

A good business builds goodwill The extra services by google builds goodwill.

Sure right now its mostly appeals to advanced/experienced net users.. but advanced/experienced net users we're also the first movers/adopters of Google(search)

Yet they've caused innovation

[JGuru42]

Google might not be making large sums of money off of their other products that have been created but it's hard to deny that they haven't caused a major change in how other online companies do their business.

After using Hotmail for all those years and then switching over to GMail as my primary e-mail I was stunned by how many things Gmail did that made it easier to work with. Now my junk e-mail account was still at Hotmail and when they asked me to be part of the beta testing for Windows Live Mail I figured it's only the junk e-mail account so I gave it a shot.

Windows Live Mail seems like someone tried to take Outlook and GMail and just mash the two of them together. However, Microsoft has still dropped the ball in making it easy to work with. For anyone who is part of the beta just try and delete multiple mails at the same time. Due to my long time of using computers I have no problem but most regular users are going to have trouble.

Even before Microsoft went for the complete overhaul they upped their maximum storage capacity in order to compete with GMail. So while it may not be a giant winner for Google money-wise, they've been a great boon to the end users who have finally started to see things get shaken up

Just like the article mentions I'll leave this innovative and beautiful Google web program with just a name, as if you've used it it's not likely you've forgotten it: Google Maps.

While supplies last

[Inmatarian]

Simple.

The more people that Google attracts to it's secondary features, the more customers it'll have using the main features. It's a special deal mail in rebate buy one get one free to the first 20 customers. Or, like keeping your doors open during the summer and letting the air conditioning blow out onto the hot streets. Anything to entice customers in.

yahoo... yeah back in the 90's

[BillGod]

I used yahoo search and email YEARS ago. One day they up and changed format. Stuff scattered all over the place searches returned were by those who paid more.. and OMFG the adds. Hotbot became my next choice and then the company we all know and love GOOGLE. Yahoo is still the #1 site not because of content or ease of use. Its simply because people hate change. No one wants to change their email address from @yahoo to @gmail because its a hassle. It has nothing to do with yahoo being better. only stupid people. My mom knows she types in yahoo then clicks on the email button to get her mail. Trying to even get her to navigate to gmail would be next to impossible. to her yahoo is better because she knows how to do it.

Re:Funny thing

[WindBourne]

That will depend on management. They are hiring good geeks (actually great geeks) that are tech savy(able to invent and do things) rather than busines savy (read political a**kissers who learn how to take credit and spread the blame). The real question is, have they been hiring the right middle management. These are the guys who can break the company (even though they rarely make the company). Yahoo screwed up long ago, by hiring business ppl who let their tech edge go (hiring business savy geeks rather than tech savy). MS, same way (their monopoly kept them alive). Amazon is whole nother creature. I have not stayed up on them and I have no friends working there, so I really can not comment on them. But from where I sit, they seem to be doing ok. Of course, they probably should do some updating on their website and consider taking on e-bay. Perhaps work with google to accomplish such?

Multiple Accounts are allowed.....

[cmdrbuzz]

So you admit to breaking the agreement with Google?
You're only allowed one account.

Having just checked both the GMail Terms of Use [google.com] and the Program Policy [google.com], the only information I can find relating to multiple accounts is:
"Prohibited Actions: Create multiple user accounts in connection with any violation of the Agreement or create user accounts by automated means or under false or fraudulent pretenses...."
which is under the Program Policy.

Where are you getting your information regarding only one account being allowed?

Re:Sure, they want to make money

[treyb]

Have you used the google text messaging service? It's incredibly useful, and probably not directly profitable for google.

Google offers this service for the same reason they offer free WiFi in Mountain View: they have more data to correlate and refine their search for you, making their ads more targeted and thus more valuable to advertisers. They may or may not have the phone you messaged from tied to your profile, but you can bet they eventually will. If you use their free WiFi service they get to see all of your web traffic, not just the searches or other Google-branded services. Pay with Google Checkout and they know what you actually bought.

I look at everything Google does with an eye towards how it increases the data set they have to target ads. It explains their corporate behavior very well.