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Before I write anything, let me declare that I am a die-hard fan of Google and I consider this to be the best thing that ever happened to internet. I say so more because of the facilities it has provided to the internet users, and also has a certain degree of robustness which was needed in the era which was ruled by Microsoft and Yahoo!
Google also did a great job by continuously adding features and a rage of diversity to the services it already provided. Its products like Gmail, Google Earth, Google News, Google Desktop, Google Web Accelerator, Google Talk etc were unthinkable and all these appeared like some discovery to its users……..needless to say that Google made a very sacred space in users like me.
But recently there has been some apprehension over the Future of Google, and people have started to raise doubts over its continued growth…….they say, Google is going to sink down. It hurted me a lot, and then I felt like doing some research over the issue. And my conclusion is that they are partly right, Google is showing the signs of being tired and restless, and at the same time lack of strategy………..If I had to jot down the Reasons why Google won’t do any better, they would be as follows:
1. Easy substitutes in near future : With products like Search Engine and eMail Services what do you think the user is investing? None……since in the era of internet these things are bound to be offered for free, or else you won’t even get a chance to perform. Now for the time-being lets assume the case of Yahoo! . Until recent past Yahoo was the most used email provider, but suddenly Google mail emerged and took over the whole scene. And this transition was so quick enough for Yahoo to react to it………and I forseee something similar happening in near future……people will migrate from Google to some better option available at that time, such transitions are more a part of the game, just because there are no costs involved within………like searching from Google or from from some XYZ search engine needs nothing but a new URL to be typed on the browser, thats it!
2. Most of the products still in Bets phase : Google news got started sometime during 2001, but until days back it was still in its beta phase, meaning they will just give you the product but not provide any support for the product. Is it fair to keep your customers waiting for the final product for 3-4 years? I guess not. But this is the case with Google’s most of the products……almost all the products are still in Beta-testing phase. I guess this can not be considered as something too fruitful for them.
3. Don’t be jack of all trades : Actually this is what Google is trying to do these days……trying to put its hand on all the domains…….and this might be a killer. Ironically, when Google started it accused Microsoft of having policies which were killing the smaller organizations because Microsoft was trying to everything, and now even Google is attempting the same.
I would love to see Google doing some introspection over these issues (Definately, I am not the first one to advice them about these……so they too must have started doing something by now). Millions of users (including me too), would love to continue using Google products forever…….if at all they wish to get back to their original philosophy of serving the customers!
