Makes perfect sense to piggyback on the success of DIY/how-to guides on YouTube, but that said, I have idea whether it's going to catch on.
Clearly Google should try this out either way.
Introducing Google Helpouts
41–50 of 120 posts
Re: Introducing Google Helpouts
#42Looks good but just not something that fits Google's DNA. A smaller & hungrier startup could have been a better place for this kind of marketplace
The first thing I thought when I read that was "they launch this after they shut down stuff like Google Reader". I guess it's all about making money now for google. If something is profitable it has to go :(
You meant not profitable, right?
Re: Introducing Google Helpouts
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I wonder if enough people avoid new Google products due to shutdown fears [...] I doubt it. That attitude is mostly a HN/geek thing. I like that they're willing to try things and test for viability in the real world. I'd rather have something and for it go away than to never have it at all. (And yes, I do understand the frustrations with Reader but I wouldn't go back in time and never use it from the start)
This wasn't about Reader specifically. Google has shutdown a lot of products. The latest being Google Checkout, which makes people nervous of building their business on Google's software. Since this service is paid, I could be netting a lot of money through it, only for it to fizzle out.
> Since this service is paid, I could be netting a lot of money through it, only for it to fizzle out.
But that's true of any service from any company. If I'm a stay-at-home mom making some extra cash on Helpouts, I have a very different risk profile than a doctor who closes down his practice to see patients exclusively through Helpouts. The stay-at-home mom might not be happy about a shutdown but she still "[netted] a lot of money" whereas the doctor might have destroyed his/her career. Every individual/company needs to assess their own risk and take the appropriate risk-mitigating actions.
The point I'm making is that the damages from a Google service shutdown are typically very low or easily mitigated (Google Checkout being no exception) and every service should be evaluated on an individual basis with your risk profile. If the value you are getting from any service is lower than the damages that would result from a shutdown, don't put all of your eggs in that basket; if you do anyway, get some contractual guarantees and be confident that they will be fulfilled.
Re: Introducing Google Helpouts
#44So what technologies is this using for streaming etc..
My guess would be WebRTC or whatever it is google hangouts use at the moment.
Re: Introducing Google Helpouts
#45Can someone explain to me what's the difference between this and a skype/FaceTime session? Because I am confused.
Re: Introducing Google Helpouts
#46An interesting new avenue for Google, where the results and satisfaction are entirely subjective, according to perception of the customer. With search results or Gmail they can hand-wave away dis-satisfaction my saying the 99th percentile are happy, but this is one-on-one. I can see the Money Back Guarantee being quite a support burden. But why are Google doing this? It's not really "organizing the World's informatio…
Agreed. It may be useful but I don't see how it fits Google's overall mission; Google Answers were more relevant and they killed it (a long time ago). Maybe the strategy is to eventually make sessions public? which would actually add value for the community. Or it's a cheap ploy to get people to use Google+ (and if so, good luck with that).
> Or it's a cheap ploy to get people to use Google+
Everything Google's done lately has been about Google+
Re: Introducing Google Helpouts
#47Reader derangement syndrome strikes again. Summarizing the thread, if you're are an early adopter of anything, you run the risk it won't be here in a year. That's what we tolerate in the tech arena, start ups throwing lots of good and dumb ideas at the wall to see what sticks, evolution in action. How many people who built their business on Facebook's F8 platform went belly up due to changes? Google is a company that…
> It's really sad we've forgotten that.
I don't think anyone's forgotten; we forgive small companies for trying-and-failing to do something cool all the time. For some reason, though, we (as an angry mob) seem to be incapable of allowing big companies to try-and-fail at exactly the same sorts of things.
(Personally, I think it might have something to do with how ancestral-environment humans saw leaders making promises as mostly a chance to tear them down from their dominant positions.)
Re: Introducing Google Helpouts
#48Can someone explain to me what's the difference between this and a skype/FaceTime session? Because I am confused.
It is a 3rd party arranged video chat between strangers intended to fulfill a specified purpose, involving a payment and reputation system.
How is that different than a skype/FaceTime session? The video interaction part is likely similar. But a mere video chat session is a much more general idea than this specific use of video chat.
Re: Introducing Google Helpouts
#49>Today, we’re announcing Helpouts—a new way to get and give help over live video.
I'm confused, hasn't this existed for months? Here is an earlier HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6248771
Re: Introducing Google Helpouts
#50My initial reaction is "cool, but I won't use it as it'll be shutdown soon enough". I wonder if enough people avoid new Google products due to shutdown fears so it leads to a product ultimately being shutdown due to neglect. A bit of a vicious cycle.
>> "My initial reaction is "cool, but I won't use it as it'll be shutdown soon enough"."
Why? It's not like you have to invest anything into the service (building a network, creating a profile etc.etc.) and it doesn't seem like a tool that is meant to become part of your workflow (e.g. reader). Also, if Helpouts goes away these 'experts' will still be available somewhere - you could schedule appointments directly.