

Google Puts Lid on New Products (2006) - jyellin
http://articles.latimes.com/2006/oct/06/business/fi-google6

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jyellin
This is a valuable lesson for all of us, but I believe can be stated
differently, which will enable an even more profound result to take place for
all of our ideas. People often ask themselves, what is it in for me, and if
the product/service that you are developing can not answer this question in a
appropriate fashion, then the user will become a non-user! How is the product
or service going to benefit my life? This should be the first question that
all of us entrepreneurs are answering on behalf of the audience that we are
looking to capture…

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qeorge
The most interesting part of this article is the date (2006). Nice find.

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jyellin
That is what I found to be most intriguing as well...Do you think that Google
is congruent with this message?

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qeorge
Yes and no. When I first read the article I hadn't noticed the date, and
thought "finally!". But having seen the dateline, and with the onslaught of
half-baked Google products continuing, it doesn't seem like the strategy has
permeated.

On the other hand, they have been releasing a lot of "labs" features into
existing products like Gmail and search, which previously might have become
discrete products.

So I think they've got a long way to go on this strategy, but I think its a
good one for them and they've made progress. I certainly don't think they
should stop innovating, but I do think they need to pay more attention to
their positioning.

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jyellin
I actually did not realize the date until I read the first few paragraphs
either! In my mind, Google has come closer than any company history to doing
everything for anyone. With this being said, I agree with the focused
innovation point that you made and the attention to positioning themselves as
we progress...I find it to be rather exciting to think about what Google will
become in 30 years.

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symesc
I stopped reading at "Rob Enderle."

