Google, over the course of time, has emerged as a company with a reputation of quickly losing interest in its less successful projects and killing them. One must note that Google has killed about 272 products and services so far! Google Graveyard of products and services includes Hangouts, Google+, Google TV, YouTube Gaming, Google URL Shortener, and many more.
This is why many users of Google products as of late have come to hate the Alphabet-owned tech giant. But, that being said, one needs to know what drives Google to put an end to its products so abruptly.
Let’s find out.
Ensuring Scalability Of Products
Besides being one of the most valuable tech companies, Google is also one of the biggest of all. This is why their workforce is split into many smaller and manageable groups which focus on different projects. Now, at certain times, in order to scale the projects, they are halted and later merged into one of Google parent offerings.
For instance, Google launched ‘Inbox’ in 2014 but then shut it down within five years to implement the same into Gmail apps for Android, iOS, and the web. While the standalone version got killed, many of its core features which were the product’s strengths baked into another superior offering.
The same goes for Google News and Weather which combined with Google Reader now brings us Google News. One can still access local news and curated lists of both national and international news, but in a different and more efficient product altogether.
Also, Google Tez is a very good example as well. Everything that was wildly successful about it went on to become integrated into Google Pay.
Prioritizing Monetization
While it is true that Google came from humble beginnings by starting out in a scrappy garage, it has now become a massive technology giant. Thus, above all, it needs to prioritize monetization to keep the gears moving!
While some ideas like Google+ never make it back from the grave. Many standalone products move to a full-fledged monetized offering such as Google Fi (previously called Project Fi) and Google Assistant (formerly known as Google Now).
Google Killing Products: A Necessary Evil For Innovation
While dead products do anger many Google users, it is, unfortunately, a necessary evil for how Google innovates.
The Alphabet-owned tech giant receives very stiff competition from the likes of Apple, Amazon Microsoft, and Facebook, thus they always adhere to the infamous longstanding motto of the Silicon Valley – ‘Fail fast, fail often’.
Google likes to churn out multiple ideas and see if it sticks. Now, if the products are unable to garner enough traction, then the tech giant needs to make a quick ‘final’ decision and not waste time moving slowly.
If you note carefully, you will be able to observe how Hangouts, Allo, and Google Talk are slowly dying or already dead. Now, to replace them Google Messages is trying to rip apart all the best parts from the previous iterations and bundle them into one strong chat offering. Will it become successful? Maybe. Maybe not.
At the end of the day, what matters for Google is to keep going until they find strike the right chord. If the Alphabet-owned giant thinks it can make something better, every product of theirs is a fair game for the chopping board.
