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Goodbye to an old friend: 1-800-GOOG-411

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Re: Goodbye to an old friend: 1-800-GOOG-411

#31

Post by patfla »

ronaldj wrote: post #5

Used this a number of times in a pinch. It'll definitely be missed. Makes me want a smartphone a little more.

> Makes me want a smartphone a little more

That’s part of the point isn’t it? Google extends the service for free (for a limited time) and people without smartphones grow to like it (glad that 1800FREE411 is still there) and then when the free service is withdrawn that iota more of dump-phone users are more inclined to buy a smartphone.

Smartphones may be growing like crazy, but there are still vastly more dumb-phones actually in peoples’ hands. Big market, right?

Re: Goodbye to an old friend: 1-800-GOOG-411

#32

Post by dh »

This was planned from day one, Google only wanted the massive data set that they collected to improve voice recognition in other areas. Rather than buy it via another channel they acquired this data set with this service.

Re: Goodbye to an old friend: 1-800-GOOG-411

#34

Post by sigstoat »

jlees wrote: post #24
cryptoz wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better ask for your money back, then. Okay, to be serious though: this service never made it to Canada so I only got to use it once while visiting the USA. It sounded pretty cool and I know you'll miss it. Seeing as this is HN, though, this is an obvious opening for a startup right? I mean, Google clearly doesn't think the service was worthwhile but much of HN is lamenting its loss.

Is it an obvious opening for a startup? How would you generate revenue?

keep all the voice data and sell it as a corpus?

Re: Goodbye to an old friend: 1-800-GOOG-411

#35

Post by smakz »

sh1mmer wrote: post #28

I think Google are actually really brave to do this and I for one am proud of them. Lots of corporate companies keep around products in zombie states for years because they are afraid of shutting stuff down and upsetting customers. Google provides lots of free services and I think it's awesome that they try stuff, innovate and then pull out when it's not working for them. I think it's good they gave everyone a month'…

The flip side of course is that it becomes dangerous if you rely on any of Google's free services. An extreme example, but what happens if GMail isn't profitable enough? Maybe Adsense for content isn't pulling it's weight any more (if it ever has)?

411 was a fairly useful service, and while shutting it down is probably the right business move, it pushes me more and more to move my primary email account and diversifying my advertising.

Re: Goodbye to an old friend: 1-800-GOOG-411

#36

Post by lsb »

bdj wrote: post #21

This is sad because this is one of the only technologies my mom is comfortable with using. She uses this service on almost a daily basis. When I called her and told her about this story, she asked if there was some way to call them up and complain about it. I know Google is notorious for not having very good customer service, but does anyone know if there is a number she could call?

1-800-FREE-411

Re: Goodbye to an old friend: 1-800-GOOG-411

#37

Post by [deleted] »

bdj wrote: post #21

This is sad because this is one of the only technologies my mom is comfortable with using. She uses this service on almost a daily basis. When I called her and told her about this story, she asked if there was some way to call them up and complain about it. I know Google is notorious for not having very good customer service, but does anyone know if there is a number she could call?

[deleted]

Re: Goodbye to an old friend: 1-800-GOOG-411

#38

Post by joezydeco »

smakz wrote: post #35
sh1mmer wrote: post #28

I think Google are actually really brave to do this and I for one am proud of them. Lots of corporate companies keep around products in zombie states for years because they are afraid of shutting stuff down and upsetting customers. Google provides lots of free services and I think it's awesome that they try stuff, innovate and then pull out when it's not working for them. I think it's good they gave everyone a month'…

The flip side of course is that it becomes dangerous if you rely on any of Google's free services. An extreme example, but what happens if GMail isn't profitable enough? Maybe Adsense for content isn't pulling it's weight any more (if it ever has)? 411 was a fairly useful service, and while shutting it down is probably the right business move, it pushes me more and more to move my primary email account and diversifyi…

The rumor I always heard was that 411 was only around to stress-test their voice recognition backend. It really wasn't delivering ads or anything of revenue to them.

Re: Goodbye to an old friend: 1-800-GOOG-411

#39

Post by smakz »

joezydeco wrote: post #38
smakz wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The flip side of course is that it becomes dangerous if you rely on any of Google's free services. An extreme example, but what happens if GMail isn't profitable enough? Maybe Adsense for content isn't pulling it's weight any more (if it ever has)? 411 was a fairly useful service, and while shutting it down is probably the right business move, it pushes me more and more to move my primary email account and diversifyi…

The rumor I always heard was that 411 was only around to stress-test their voice recognition backend. It really wasn't delivering ads or anything of revenue to them.

I've also heard rumors that Gmail and Adsense for Content aren't particularly profitable for Google. Of course I've also heard that the brand equity created with Gmail is very valuable and those two are extreme examples, but even based on similar rumors it's possible Google could shut down either one.

Re: Goodbye to an old friend: 1-800-GOOG-411

#40

Post by ZeroGravitas »

pasbesoin wrote: post #6

TANSTAAFL I try to keep this in mind with respect to all "free" products, including others from Google. E.g. Google Apps Standard: Nice while it lasts, but don't invest in its sticking around.

Of course this also applies to paid products too. One I just saw five minutes ago was Apple's .Mac homepage web hosting.
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