That was probably a fine idea when they were getting started and just throwing ideas against the wall when starting at 0, but they are a big establish company with big established products. They can't just throw the baby out with the bathwater every time and expect users to actually be on board.
Google Wave was the perfect example of that. Wave would have been amazing if it was integrated into Gmail. Like Apple did with iMessage, if a Gmail user emailed another Gmail user (or group of users) it would turn into a Wave and get a bunch of extra features. This would have provided value, instantly given it millions of users, and encouraged current users to get their friends and co-workers on Gmail to use Waves. Instead, they made it it's own invite-only service (trying to recreate the Gmail magic) and it was a failure due to lack of users.
This is a horrible strategy and they are going to continue shooting themselves in the foot if they don't pivot.
Google Wave was the perfect example of that. Wave would have been amazing if it was integrated into Gmail. Like Apple did with iMessage, if a Gmail user emailed another Gmail user (or group of users) it would turn into a Wave and get a bunch of extra features. This would have provided value, instantly given it millions of users, and encouraged current users to get their friends and co-workers on Gmail to use Waves. Instead, they made it it's own invite-only service (trying to recreate the Gmail magic) and it was a failure due to lack of users.
This is a horrible strategy and they are going to continue shooting themselves in the foot if they don't pivot.