6 ms·

So my Nest app[1] that has 1800+ registered users will stop working in August. :'( [1] https://richev.me/nest https://richev.me/nest

by richev 7y ago

ars 7y ago
Can you switch it to Works with Google Assistant and get the same data?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- richev 7y ago
  That's a good question - and I'm not sure. I created my app when I had a Nest thermostat and was working from home. The thermostat would assume that no-one was at home during the day - and so turn off the heating - as I didn't walk past it often enough, so the original purpose of the app was just to detect when I was actively using my PC, and ping the thermostat not to go into "Away" mode. It was then really rewarding to add more features and make the app available for others to use. I got some lovely feedback and sensible feature requests via email, and one user generously did a French translation of the UI. I even got a small number of $€£s in Paypal donations! However. I no longer have a Nest thermostat (moved to Australia, where they're not available), no longer work from home, and now have a young son. So I have to admit that prioritising the time & finding the motivation to rework the app to work against a different set of APIs (if even possible) may be hard to come by.
pugworthy 7y ago
Look not to be blunt, but 1800 users? Why should they care? I'm being a devils advocate, but ... if you were at Google and a person making large business decisions, why would you care about 1800 users?
- sdinsn 7y ago
  Because having an open API fosters a community of applications that is free marketing and free development for your product. Nest products are expensive, those 1800 users may equate to a few hundred thousand in revenue for Google, who may instead buy a competitor for their next purchase.
  - pugworthy 7y ago
    I get that, and I think it's sad they cut it for that reason, but can we at least express our thoughts in that line? "I will never buy Nest AGAIN!" stuff is like what I'd expect on Reddit or Facebook. Can't we at least post about what the value is that's being lost?
    - protomyth 7y ago
      We don’t know the value that’s being lost since we are talking about potential in early days. 1800 can go to 180,000 in a short time. We don’t know where Twitter would be if they hadn’t tanked their client ecosystem. We don’t know where Wave would be.
    - AJ007 7y ago
      Most of the value that is being lost is for Google, at least if they have any expectation of dependence on developer trust in the future.
- pugworthy 7y ago
  Vote me down all you want, but it's a valid business question.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    If I'm a technologist or developer, I would be less enthusiastic about suggesting or implementing other Google technologies due to the poor form they continue to show in developer relations. Google is poisoning their brand to the people who control the spend and make technology decisions. While Ballmer's "Developers, developers, developers" delivery on stage was painful, he was right, and Nadella at Microsoft gets it. I would not recommend any Google products, including Google Cloud, to anyone.
- freewilly1040 7y ago
  Developer hours going towards enriching the ecosystem at no cost to Google are gold. They’ve now alienated this dev, and produced yet another cautionary tale for anyone thinking about relying on Google.
- a_t48 7y ago
  He's not going to be the only one with a few thousand users.
- jschwartzi 7y ago
  What exactly qualifies as a user? Are API users individual accounts making transactions? Are they companies that have registered with Google to use the Works with Nest API? If it's 1800 individual hobbyists I get it, but if we're talking about 1800 small and medium businesses that have to find a different way to support their customer base that's a huge problem.
- cortesoft 7y ago
  What are you playing devils advocate against? OP wasn't saying it was a bad business decision by google, he was just saying it sucks for the 1800 people using his thing. Are you saying those 1800 people can't be upset about the lost functionality because they don't effect Google's bottom line? I don't understand how your comment follows from the GP
- telltruth 7y ago
  1800 is big number. When you piss off these many people, they talk, they let their friends know, they tweet. It's a world of instant information that spreads like wild fire. You are easily talking about turning away 18000 or even million users depending on who picks up their frustration. You are one journalist away from disaster. So if you got to piss off these many people, you better have real good reason and be able to explain it convincingly. You show empathy. You have path for switch. You give enough of notice. I see none of that in Google's blog post. Absolutely none. They have hired people who simply don't care or perhaps are so dumb that they don't even know the damage they are doing. Next time when Google guy show up at interview, make sure to ask him/her big decisions he/she made about product shutdowns and how they executed on them.
- mcv 7y ago
  > Why should they care? Because they're still users, and that's only for this app; there are a lot more Nest users than that. How Google treats them is a sign of how they may treat other users in the future. If Google make it a habit to screw users, users will not trust Google in the future. Losing the trust of your users is more expensive than some companies seem to realise.

So my Nest app[1] that has 1800+ registered users will stop working in August. :'( [1] https://richev.me/nest https://richev.me/nest

by richev 7y ago

So my Nest app[1] that has 1800+ registered users will stop working in August. :'( [1] https://richev.me/nest https://richev.me/nest

ars 7y ago

Can you switch it to Works with Google Assistant and get the same data?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
richev 7y ago
That's a good question - and I'm not sure. I created my app when I had a Nest thermostat and was working from home. The thermostat would assume that no-one was at home during the day - and so turn off the heating - as I didn't walk past it often enough, so the original purpose of the app was just to detect when I was actively using my PC, and ping the thermostat not to go into "Away" mode. It was then really rewarding to add more features and make the app available for others to use. I got some lovely feedback and sensible feature requests via email, and one user generously did a French translation of the UI. I even got a small number of $€£s in Paypal donations! However. I no longer have a Nest thermostat (moved to Australia, where they're not available), no longer work from home, and now have a young son. So I have to admit that prioritising the time & finding the motivation to rework the app to work against a different set of APIs (if even possible) may be hard to come by.

pugworthy 7y ago

Look not to be blunt, but 1800 users? Why should they care? I'm being a devils advocate, but ... if you were at Google and a person making large business decisions, why would you care about 1800 users?

sdinsn 7y ago
Because having an open API fosters a community of applications that is free marketing and free development for your product. Nest products are expensive, those 1800 users may equate to a few hundred thousand in revenue for Google, who may instead buy a competitor for their next purchase.
- pugworthy 7y ago
  I get that, and I think it's sad they cut it for that reason, but can we at least express our thoughts in that line? "I will never buy Nest AGAIN!" stuff is like what I'd expect on Reddit or Facebook. Can't we at least post about what the value is that's being lost?
  - protomyth 7y ago
    We don’t know the value that’s being lost since we are talking about potential in early days. 1800 can go to 180,000 in a short time. We don’t know where Twitter would be if they hadn’t tanked their client ecosystem. We don’t know where Wave would be.
  - AJ007 7y ago
    Most of the value that is being lost is for Google, at least if they have any expectation of dependence on developer trust in the future.
pugworthy 7y ago
Vote me down all you want, but it's a valid business question.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  If I'm a technologist or developer, I would be less enthusiastic about suggesting or implementing other Google technologies due to the poor form they continue to show in developer relations. Google is poisoning their brand to the people who control the spend and make technology decisions. While Ballmer's "Developers, developers, developers" delivery on stage was painful, he was right, and Nadella at Microsoft gets it. I would not recommend any Google products, including Google Cloud, to anyone.
freewilly1040 7y ago
Developer hours going towards enriching the ecosystem at no cost to Google are gold. They’ve now alienated this dev, and produced yet another cautionary tale for anyone thinking about relying on Google.
a_t48 7y ago
He's not going to be the only one with a few thousand users.
jschwartzi 7y ago
What exactly qualifies as a user? Are API users individual accounts making transactions? Are they companies that have registered with Google to use the Works with Nest API? If it's 1800 individual hobbyists I get it, but if we're talking about 1800 small and medium businesses that have to find a different way to support their customer base that's a huge problem.
cortesoft 7y ago
What are you playing devils advocate against? OP wasn't saying it was a bad business decision by google, he was just saying it sucks for the 1800 people using his thing. Are you saying those 1800 people can't be upset about the lost functionality because they don't effect Google's bottom line? I don't understand how your comment follows from the GP
telltruth 7y ago
1800 is big number. When you piss off these many people, they talk, they let their friends know, they tweet. It's a world of instant information that spreads like wild fire. You are easily talking about turning away 18000 or even million users depending on who picks up their frustration. You are one journalist away from disaster. So if you got to piss off these many people, you better have real good reason and be able to explain it convincingly. You show empathy. You have path for switch. You give enough of notice. I see none of that in Google's blog post. Absolutely none. They have hired people who simply don't care or perhaps are so dumb that they don't even know the damage they are doing. Next time when Google guy show up at interview, make sure to ask him/her big decisions he/she made about product shutdowns and how they executed on them.
mcv 7y ago
> Why should they care? Because they're still users, and that's only for this app; there are a lot more Nest users than that. How Google treats them is a sign of how they may treat other users in the future. If Google make it a habit to screw users, users will not trust Google in the future. Losing the trust of your users is more expensive than some companies seem to realise.