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I really hope Google Assistant succeeds. I am totally embedded in the Android/Gmail/GSuite ecosystem. I want it to succeed. I need it to succeed. However so fa

I really hope Google Assistant succeeds. I am totally embedded in the Android/Gmail/GSuite ecosystem. I want it to succeed. I need it to succeed. However so far Google voice assistant hasn't worked great for me. Most of the time it gets it wrong. It is really frustrating while driving. I am a native English speaker, albeit Australian. I've made this comment before - it is astounding that Google have banked their entire reputation on people getting a positive experience through saying "Ok Google". Amazon have Alexa. Apple have Siri. Microsoft have Cortana. If any of those become a negative experience overall, they can just invent a new AI with a new name. But at the moment, saying "Ok Google" ends with me having an experience of frustration or disappointment. This is a big risk with your brand?! You can breakup with Siri and stay with Apple. It's going to take an amazing Google Assistant to over come the hundreds of wasted voice experiences I have suffered thus far. Good luck, Google.

mstade 9y ago
Don’t worry, in about six to twelve months Google will release at least one product to competes with their own. With a little luck it’s better. Of course they’ll just scrap it about six to eight months after that, but it’ll be fun while it lasts!
sorenjan 9y ago
The "ok Google" phrase originates from Google Glass, which was mainly made to give Google positive PR. The activation phrase was apparently thought up by the woman who dated Hugo Barra when he was an Android executive, and later (and overlapping) had an affair with Sergey Brin. Maybe that had something to do with it gaining traction. I also think Google's original goal was to make their assistant more objective than Siri, without distracting personality. You were interacting with Google, not some anthropomorphic AI. They seem to have changed that, and the assistant now makes jokes and sings, so by now it does feel a bit odd that it doesn't have its own name like the competitors. But Google isn't really that great at marketing.
- username223 9y ago
  > The activation phrase was apparently thought up by the woman who dated Hugo Barra when he was an Android executive, and later (and overlapping) had an affair with Sergey Brin... I also think Google's original goal was to make their assistant more objective than Siri, without distracting personality. This is simultaneously hilarious and diseased.
saagarjha 9y ago
> I am totally embedded in the Android/Gmail/GSuite ecosystem. I want it to succeed. I need it to succeed. Is it just me, or does anyone else find this kind of statement concerning? Google literally controls all of your data and you're forced to rely on them for services.
- ocdtrekkie 9y ago
  People should ask themselves what would happen to them if Google (or Facebook or Microsoft or Apple) flagged their account for any reason, be it believing they're a bot, not liking the content they post, etc. and permanently closed their account. How would they recover their access to their other accounts? Do they have backups of the information they rely on? What is the burden or cost of this risk?
  - mynegation 9y ago
    I did ask myself and I have a plan for each of those things. Except for FB, because I don’t give a damn. Basically the plan is to own your domain name, and build things around email that can be moved to any provider.
    - adventured 9y ago
      What do you do for the email address that fundamentally controls the domain registration? There's also a high danger in a loop there, where your own domain supplies the email address that controls the domain. And if you don't go with that approach, what email provider do you then trust to provide that external validation point for the domain. I don't see how you can escape the risk.
      - aianus 9y ago
        Why is there danger in the loop, exactly? I’ve never needed access to email to sign into my registrar (AWS) and change DNS records.
        9y ago
ericflo 9y ago
Honestly, this comment depresses me so much. We've all got Stockholm Syndrome.
- flycaliguy 9y ago
  I didn’t really take the “need it to succeed“ line seriously. That’s kind of just something people say. Is it really that crazy to operate in one ecosystem like that? Is spreading my data over a couple massive companies somehow worth it IRL? I doubt it.
  - cube2222 9y ago
    Nah, better to sell yourself to one company than to many in my opinion. Keep in mind to use some of Google's paid services, so you get proper customer support, just in case. (GSuite, Pixel, GCP, Ads)

mstade 9y ago

Don’t worry, in about six to twelve months Google will release at least one product to competes with their own. With a little luck it’s better. Of course they’ll just scrap it about six to eight months after that, but it’ll be fun while it lasts!

sorenjan 9y ago

The "ok Google" phrase originates from Google Glass, which was mainly made to give Google positive PR. The activation phrase was apparently thought up by the woman who dated Hugo Barra when he was an Android executive, and later (and overlapping) had an affair with Sergey Brin. Maybe that had something to do with it gaining traction. I also think Google's original goal was to make their assistant more objective than Siri, without distracting personality. You were interacting with Google, not some anthropomorphic AI. They seem to have changed that, and the assistant now makes jokes and sings, so by now it does feel a bit odd that it doesn't have its own name like the competitors. But Google isn't really that great at marketing.

username223 9y ago
> The activation phrase was apparently thought up by the woman who dated Hugo Barra when he was an Android executive, and later (and overlapping) had an affair with Sergey Brin... I also think Google's original goal was to make their assistant more objective than Siri, without distracting personality. This is simultaneously hilarious and diseased.

saagarjha 9y ago

> I am totally embedded in the Android/Gmail/GSuite ecosystem. I want it to succeed. I need it to succeed. Is it just me, or does anyone else find this kind of statement concerning? Google literally controls all of your data and you're forced to rely on them for services.

ocdtrekkie 9y ago
People should ask themselves what would happen to them if Google (or Facebook or Microsoft or Apple) flagged their account for any reason, be it believing they're a bot, not liking the content they post, etc. and permanently closed their account. How would they recover their access to their other accounts? Do they have backups of the information they rely on? What is the burden or cost of this risk?
- mynegation 9y ago
  I did ask myself and I have a plan for each of those things. Except for FB, because I don’t give a damn. Basically the plan is to own your domain name, and build things around email that can be moved to any provider.
  - adventured 9y ago
    What do you do for the email address that fundamentally controls the domain registration? There's also a high danger in a loop there, where your own domain supplies the email address that controls the domain. And if you don't go with that approach, what email provider do you then trust to provide that external validation point for the domain. I don't see how you can escape the risk.
    - aianus 9y ago
      Why is there danger in the loop, exactly? I’ve never needed access to email to sign into my registrar (AWS) and change DNS records.
      - 9y ago

ericflo 9y ago

Honestly, this comment depresses me so much. We've all got Stockholm Syndrome.

flycaliguy 9y ago
I didn’t really take the “need it to succeed“ line seriously. That’s kind of just something people say. Is it really that crazy to operate in one ecosystem like that? Is spreading my data over a couple massive companies somehow worth it IRL? I doubt it.
- cube2222 9y ago
  Nah, better to sell yourself to one company than to many in my opinion. Keep in mind to use some of Google's paid services, so you get proper customer support, just in case. (GSuite, Pixel, GCP, Ads)