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Google SMS search has been shut down

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Re: Google SMS search has been shut down

#11

Post by ixtraz »

duked wrote: post #4
jstanley wrote: post #2

Are Google having cashflow problems? How come they're shutting down so many of their services?

To me it sounds more like they are shutting down services that can't be monetized :/

Looks like it's a big chance to make a startup based on big-company closed service. E.g. Feedly is a good option.

Re: Google SMS search has been shut down

#12

Post by sbuccini »

It seems to me that this service would be really, really handy in countries where Nokia bar phones are prevalent. I'd love to see how many people actually used this service in those areas, because it depriving those people of this service goes against Google's mission of providing the entire world with information.

Re: Google SMS search has been shut down

#13

Post by Kylekramer »

duked wrote: post #4
jstanley wrote: post #2

Are Google having cashflow problems? How come they're shutting down so many of their services?

To me it sounds more like they are shutting down services that can't be monetized :/

Or services that have no future? SMS search is a dead man walking in 2013.

Re: Google SMS search has been shut down

#15

Post by hmsimha »

I posted this when it was pulled a couple days ago, to no traction :/

Google says their mission is to 'organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.' To me (and several others who have posted in that forum), this seems to be counterintuitive to that mission. Many people can't afford or don't want to pay for a smartphone or the data plan. When you try using SMS search now, google responds "SMS search has been shutdown. You can continue to search the web at google.com on any device". This isn't exactly helpful for someone lost in an unfamiliar city without a smartphone or GPS.

Re: Google SMS search has been shut down

#16

Post by rm999 »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #10
rm999 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Are Google having cashflow problems? Nope, they are more profitable than ever. My friend who works at Google explained to me that a big issue is maintenance. It's a tougher problem than it sounds because if an issue comes up someone needs to understand the codebase well. When a product is no longer worth the budget of full-time employees the best course of action is to kill the product.

This: Nope, they are more profitable than ever. Goes hand in hand with "shutting down a lot of services" since rounded to the nearest billion dollars the only business Google has is search & display advertising, generally deleting anything else accretes positively to the bottom line :-)

There's some truth to that, but their profits are growing because their annual revenues are consistently and exponentially growing, not because their costs are going down:

https://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ%3AGOOG&fstype=ii...

Digital advertising just happens to be a very good industry to be in right now.

Re: Google SMS search has been shut down

#17

Post by jfb »

hmsimha wrote: post #15

I posted this when it was pulled a couple days ago, to no traction :/ Google says their mission is to 'organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.' To me (and several others who have posted in that forum), this seems to be counterintuitive to that mission. Many people can't afford or don't want to pay for a smartphone or the data plan. When you try using SMS search now, google resp…

Google says their mission is one thing; their actions seem to point to another. Actions speak louder than words.

Re: Google SMS search has been shut down

#19

Post by Kylekramer »

hmsimha wrote: post #15

I posted this when it was pulled a couple days ago, to no traction :/ Google says their mission is to 'organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.' To me (and several others who have posted in that forum), this seems to be counterintuitive to that mission. Many people can't afford or don't want to pay for a smartphone or the data plan. When you try using SMS search now, google resp…

Sure, it isn't helpful for those without a data plan, but decisions doesn't exist in a present day vacuum. People with phones without data plans are a dying breed, and I think any reasonable person would focus their efforts on the premise that the world is moving toward smartphones.
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