Why Google+ Has Already Failed • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Google+ Has Already Failed

#21

Post by jase_coop » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 5:55 PM UTC

widget wrote: post #18

jase_coop wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think their motives are suspect. I'm fine with how they handle my information and conduct their business. I just don't think their motives will lead to innovation.

Innovation isn't the only thing that leads to success, not by a long shot. Polish, ease of use, a large feature set, security, and any number of other factors can have just as big an impact on users as innovation. People don't use Google search because it's innovative, and people don't use Facebook because it innovated and people won't make their decisions on Google+ based on its innovations.

> Polish, ease of use, a large feature set, security, and any number of other factors can have just as big an impact on users as innovation.

Not if it's something people don't need or want in the first place.

If Google have 'innovated' then it means they've created something original and new that is useful for people. Only time will tell, but my personal opinion, based on what I've seen so far is they haven't.

Re: Why Google+ Has Already Failed

#22

Post by widget » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 6:04 PM UTC

jase_coop wrote: post #21

widget wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Innovation isn't the only thing that leads to success, not by a long shot. Polish, ease of use, a large feature set, security, and any number of other factors can have just as big an impact on users as innovation. People don't use Google search because it's innovative, and people don't use Facebook because it innovated and people won't make their decisions on Google+ based on its innovations.

> Polish, ease of use, a large feature set, security, and any number of other factors can have just as big an impact on users as innovation. Not if it's something people don't need or want in the first place. If Google have 'innovated' then it means they've created something original and new that is useful for people. Only time will tell, but my personal opinion, based on what I've seen so far is they haven't.

Well yes, if the users don't want the product then nothing else matters, but I don't see what that has to do with innovation.

I have no problem with your argument that Google+ will need to be useful in some sense to be successful, but originality is hardly necessary for that to be the case.

If what they're going for is "Like Facebook, but better!" then they certainly are going to have a difficult time convincing many users to switch, but I wouldn't say it's anything approaching impossible.

Re: Why Google+ Has Already Failed

#23

Post by jase_coop » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 6:25 PM UTC

j_r_ wrote: post #20

debaserab2 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel (and I believe this to be the author's sentiment as well) that Google Plus does not innovate enough on any existing products to grant it significant relevance. Google dominated because it did search much better than it's competitors and got people the search results they were looking for. Google+ does nothing for me that I cannot get with Facebook.

Well, it seems to me that the author makes some kind of moral argument out of the whole thing in a David vs. Goliath kind of way. Certainly both are (huge) corporations but I still trust Google more. They still seem to have a sane leadership which I'm not so sure about with Facebook. Maybe I just don't like Zuckerberg ... He just is not the kind of underdog that I would like to succeed. (Edit: Neither is Google, but…

I'm neither pro Google or Facebook.

I merely make a comparison between the early days, intentions and motives of both Google+ and Facebook, how they're different and why I think that difference is important.

Re: Why Google+ Has Already Failed

#24

Post by michaelpinto » Fri, Jul 01, 2011, 11:41 PM UTC

michaelpinto wrote: post #10

Something that I've realized is that any project that Google does which feeds into their search engine results is much more likely to be flooded by spammers than any project by any other company. This could mean that Google has closed the doors to anything involving content without realizing it. For example from the point of view of a spammer there's no real gain in hitting a like button a thousand times — but abusin…

...I take back what I wrote here! I've now been playing with Google+ and it's killer. It may still get killed by abuse, but perhaps the Google team with some luck and hard work can prevent that.