“To attempt to build something new, a la Apple, with the assurance that company likes to make (‘This is the best way, which is why we made it the only way’) is not a Google strength,” Coldewey writes. “They just aren’t good at making new things. Never have been. Making existing things easier, faster, more accessible — sure. But inventing them? Not so much. So the idea that they were going to invent a new way to share should have rung alarm bells to begin with.”
“Sharing was never broken; Google merely found that they were losing a battle [for which] they had not even prepared,” Coldewey writes. “Their declaration of war was a declaration of defeat.”
“Is Google+ the iPhone to Facebook’s Palm Pilot? Surely not. Who judged that it was? That person is incompetent,” Coldewey writes. “What was Google+? A single product, made to compete with an entire ecosystem. A product, moreover, lacking the single most important ingredient: users. Now, unless you are sure that your product is far, far better than what’s out there, you are not the hawk. Steve Jobs knew he was the hawk in 2007, and he knew that what he was doing would break its prey. The look on his face while he describes the competition is one of sheer predatory glee.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Daniel N." for the heads up.]
Related articles:
James Whittaker: Why I left Google – March 14, 2012
Google+ to boost features, integrate Google Apps accounts, add pseudonyms soon – October 20, 2011
A eulogy for Google+ – August 15, 2011
Free Google+ for iPhone app debuts in Apple App Store – July 19, 2011
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