I grew up in the 90s and saw first hand how Google elegantly did what other, much bigger companies failed. It was my personal hero and loved company for the longest time.
However, "Don't be Evil" slogan eventually had to leave...
However, "Don't be Evil" slogan eventually had to leave...
Disclaimer: this is opinion piece. View it as that. I intentionally isolate myself from checking facts on search or using LLMs to help. Want to draw a very subjective picture of how I've seen things panning out.
Okay, so premise is quite simple: there were big, inflexible companies. Then came Google, did everything opposite to what was normal at the time and managed to execute it.
Okay, so premise is quite simple: there were big, inflexible companies. Then came Google, did everything opposite to what was normal at the time and managed to execute it.
The Email
I remember how shocked I was when I was able to register Gmail. For free. No shitty ads. Gigabyte of storage was unthinkable at the time.
Eventually Ads were introduced, storage limits reached, however it's still miles ahead of how Hotmail (Microsoft), or Yahoo Mail looked then.
Eventually Ads were introduced, storage limits reached, however it's still miles ahead of how Hotmail (Microsoft), or Yahoo Mail looked then.
The Search
It's quite obvious how good this was, to the point, that new word was invented - "Googling", to name a process of search. It was and still is the core business, I guess I don't need to introduce it.
The Downfall
There's a saying "do what you love and money will come", and to me at the time, this looked like Google's modus operandi - they do great things, for free, and money somehow comes to them. There was Gmail, Google Search, Youtube. I used them all, for free, and they worked orders of magnitude better then competition.
It looked like a goose laying golden eggs, app after app (well ok, they bought Youtube, I knew that, but they managed to make it better).
First doubts came when Google+ was launched. While I actually tried to use it and even found several great bloggers writing interesting stuff, it looked like incompetences from a design perspective made it fail. Most of profiles looked like those websites in early 2000s made with website builder. It was very desolate place with very little content.
Eventually, Google bit the bullet, admitted they don't know how to make social network and killed it off.
It looked like a goose laying golden eggs, app after app (well ok, they bought Youtube, I knew that, but they managed to make it better).
First doubts came when Google+ was launched. While I actually tried to use it and even found several great bloggers writing interesting stuff, it looked like incompetences from a design perspective made it fail. Most of profiles looked like those websites in early 2000s made with website builder. It was very desolate place with very little content.
Eventually, Google bit the bullet, admitted they don't know how to make social network and killed it off.