12 ms·

Google shuts down its blog management tool just 10 months after launch

137 points by Boulth 7y ago

JaimeThompson 7y ago
At some point Google needs to realize that releasing products then killing them like this makes people worry about using them for other projects. Simply going on number of users / revenue per user doesn't seem to be a a great long term strategy.
- izacus 7y ago
  It seems to have worked for many years now with Google reporting record revenue pretty much every year until now. Why do you think switching to a model where Google bleeds money on unprofitable products will help anything?
  - arcticbull 7y ago
    That's a false dichotomy. Just because a system is profitable doesn't mean it will be moving forward or that there aren't more effective operating models out there. Long-term success of a company relies on its ability to adapt. IMO this kind of development cycle has worked up till now, but moving forward, I'd hope they're much more thoughtful and methodical about what they choose to launch and how as it is in fact hurting their brand.
    - izacus 7y ago
      And yet your post (and downvotes) still don't really answer the question: What kind of basis/proof/data is the idea that Google should change it's massively profitable strategy based on? Which metrics besides "gut feeling" or "I don't like it"?
      - arcticbull 7y ago
        It’s a good question, but one I could think of is something relating to success of new products. Ideally you never launch an outright flop, Apple’s had maybe 2 or 3. You can take their strategy and “be right most of the time” or you can reinforce the importance of product market fit and understanding instead of spaghetti model. There’s always an opportunity for research and understanding prior to development, and hiring people who have launched similar successful products. That doesn’t require a pivot just a bit more investment early on and the return can be tracked as a function of success of new products.
        scarface74 7y ago
        The only major flop that I can think that Apple has had in the last decade is the trash can Mac Pro and that market is so small for Apple it didn’t really affect revenue that much. I think the HomePod may be a flop. But the difference is that the products that flopped aren’t platforms that people came to depend on.
        arcticbull 7y ago
        The iPod Hi-Fi was another, and lest we forget Ping, RIP.
        scarface74 7y ago
        I did say in the last decade. The iPod Hifi was discontinued September 2007. I can list many failures before then - the MacTV, the 20th anniversary Mac, the entire Performa line, the Pippin, the Mac clone program, the Apple III, eWorld, Newton, Cube, System 7 Pro, OpenDoc (and CyberDog),....
        arcticbull 7y ago
        You’re definitely right that the Hi-Fi was earlier, I considered it in the iPod era but you are nonetheless correct. Ping expired September 2012 ^_^
      - scarface74 7y ago
        Based on last quarter’s results where profits on advertising were down year over year as acquisition cost rose faster than revenue on ad sales.
        joshuamorton 7y ago
        How does that have anything to do with Google's product strategy in a bunch of products that don't show ads?
        scarface74 7y ago
        It needs to find some method of diversification and it will never do that if it kills off products that aren’t immediately profitable instead of finding a business model. Google’s ad business can easily be disrupted by ad blockers.
        joshuamorton 7y ago
        Of course I've heard of it. Unfortunately, you're doing this thing where you state a bunch of at a glance, unrelated facts and leave me to fill in the details. It's the same way people talk about conspiracy theories, and it's an infuriating rhetorical tactic to deal with. So some questions: Do you think that high speed internet is going to be so wildly profitable to cause a clear diversification in Google's profit? My understanding is that it already doesn't have great margins, and google moving in would increase competition, reducing those margins. Do you really believe that google plans to diversify by moving into a complelety non software business like internet utilities? If Google's ad business can be so easily disrupted, why haven't ad blockers noticably done so in the past two decades? Or if they have, why hasn't that impacted Google's profit? If your argument is that it did, but only recently (the TAC stuff), what changed recently to cause that? Do you think that enterprise offerings like cloud aren't diversification?
        scarface74 7y ago
        Do you really believe that google plans to diversify by moving into a complelety non software business like internet utilities? People said it was crazy for Apple to move into the music business (Slashdot: “No Wireless, Less Space than a Nomad, Lame”)and try to open a digital music store (who will buy music when they can get it for free?). That seem to have worked out pretty well. The CEO of Palm said on rumors of the iPhone in 2006 when people thought it was crazy for Apple to get into the phone business “PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in.”. Google’s ad business is being disrupted - their profit was down on ad sales. Facebook knows a lot more about people because people tell Facebook a lot more about themselves and can do better targeting. Also, since most Facebook usage is done through apps, ads are almost impossible to block. Amazon is also getting more into the ad space and they know a lot more about consumer behavior than Google. Their first party ads are also harder to block. iOS fairly recently added native content blockers - where the most valuable consumers are and more traffic is moving to mobile. “Do you think that enterprise offerings like cloud aren't diversification?” It’s a distance third to AWS and Azure. GCP doesn’t have the first mover advantage of Amazon or the advantage of having the advantage of Microsoft’s entrenched base in the enterprise or its sales team.
      - mike_ivanov 7y ago
        > What kind of basis/proof/data Here - https://jamesstuber.com/second-order-effects/ https://jamesstuber.com/second-order-effects/ > is the idea that Google should change No, by all means Google shouldn't. It's too large to be taken down by external forces, but it can (and I hope it will) inflict itself by maintaining its arrogant attitude.
  - JaimeThompson 7y ago
    The cost of keeping this product going would be in the low millions which is far from bleeding money.
  - scarface74 7y ago
    They are already bleeding money on unprofitable products. After years of trying to diversify, they are still mostly an ad company. On a side note: RIM was most profitable three years after the iPhone came out. Profits are a lagging indicator.
- wilde 7y ago
  I mean, Ads pays the bills. Everything else is a hobby.
sparrish 7y ago
"it was limited to India for its entire life." Limited launch provided proof that it was a bad market fit and so they 'failed quickly' and shut it down. Isn't this supposed to be how it's done?
- Donald 7y ago
  Except when their rapid product cycle creates a feedback loop where users are afraid to adopt in fear of a shutdown, thereby increasing the risk of falsely determining a bad market fit.
  - diminoten 7y ago
    Users aren't afraid to adopt Google products in any meaningful quantity.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - arcticbull 7y ago
      I know I am. After they killed Health, Reader, Finance and Moderator, it became clear their new services weren't worth my time investing in. They've killed 143 services, 14 apps and 14 pieces of hardware since 2001. [1] I'm not even sure Finance is accurately reflected on this list since it just got neutered. I don't care how big a company you are, killing 10 products per year is one heck of a pace. [1] https://killedbygoogle.com https://killedbygoogle.com
      - libraryatnight 7y ago
        Same here. Some time in the past hearing of a new Google product got me excited. I'd sign up for beta, get my friends onboard etc etc, now I just think "oh something they'll shut down" and largely ignore it.
      - diminoten 7y ago
        Yeah but you're not representative of a significantly sized user population.
Ultramanoid 7y ago
At this point, using any service from Google makes no sense, really. On top of many other reasons, zero trust in the service surviving ( or just reaching ! ) a two year period at least. Obligatory : https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/04/googles-constant-product-shutdowns-are-damaging-its-brand/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/04/googles-constant-pro...
alienallys 7y ago
This is the reason I'm sceptical of signing up for Google Stadia. People are heavily betting it would fail, and Google being Google will be quick to shutdown when it sees that.
- scotth 7y ago
  I signed up, and I'm looking forward to it. My brother and friends are similarly excited.
  - Bombthecat 7y ago
    I just upgraded my pc... In two years I probably go the online cloud gaming route...i hope there will be a cheap stadia "console". All it just needs is an ehternet port and a damn cheap arm. Power usage should be very very low.
    - SmirkingRevenge 7y ago
      What would the point of a Stadia "console" be, when Stadia will already run on a chromecast?
    - nvrspyx 7y ago
      Your Stadia "console" is a Chromecast Ultra and a Stadia controller. It also has ethernet and often sells for less than $80.
      - scotth 7y ago
        You don't even need the controller.
        nvrspyx 7y ago
        For Chromecast, you do. > Which Chromecast devices are compatible with Stadia? > For launch in November, only the Google Chromecast Ultra will be compatible with Stadia, and you will also need a Stadia Controller and access to Stadia to play with Chromecast. Access to Stadia in November is only available through the Founder's Edition or through a Stadia Buddy Pass. Stay tuned for future announcements regarding additional device compatibility. https://support.google.com/stadia/answer/9338946?hl=en https://support.google.com/stadia/answer/9338946?hl=en
Kye 7y ago
Blogger and Feedburner will probably be the last Google services to shut down. Despite perennial portents of doom for them, they're used heavily on Google's own blogs and get major updates every 1-2 years.
- milankragujevic 7y ago
  Feedburner wasn't updated since 2010.
  - Kye 7y ago
    They keep the list of feed readers on feed pages updated. It’s already perfect as it is as long as they keep the list current. They’re both what I would call mature software. A rare thing for web apps. Updating the list is major from that perspective.
- ocdtrekkie 7y ago
  Googlers were amongst public Google+'s most prolific users, and Google+ commenting was the way comments were handled on all of these Google blogs right up until the shut down. Internal use does not protected Google products from their fall.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - jdofaz 7y ago
    Agree with your point but google+ wasn’t shutdown, just isn’t free now. You can still use it with your organization if you pay for gsuite.
Proven 7y ago
Google app and service shutdowns aren't much of a problem if you don't use them. There is solution and it's easy.
woranl 7y ago
Also killed by Google https://killedbygoogle.com/ https://killedbygoogle.com/
andrewshadura 7y ago
They're also shutting down Google Trip replacing it with a website (google.com/travel) which is less capable (e.g. you cannot add reservations) and there isn't at the moment any mobile app replacement.
- SkyMarshal 7y ago
  Never used Trip and don't know how it works, but https://www.kayak.com/ https://www.kayak.com/ lets you store flight/hotel reservations and sends you notifications about them. Also has mobile apps.
dreamcompiler 7y ago
Every time I see a new Google product I think "Oh good. Another Google manager got promoted. Won't hurt me at all as long as I avoid that product."
rograndom 7y ago
I saw this at a the Google booth at trade show right around launch. There was a big panel with information and a 1/3 page take-away with the same information. I tried talking to people at the booth about it but they could only help with with AdWords and didn't know much about the other product apart that there was a flyer I could take. Filed it away as "interesting if it actually gains momentum" and promptly forgot about it until a couple of months ago when a co-worker saw the same booth at another tradeshow and said we should look into it. Saw no further information online than what was at the booth, but made a ticket on Trello to try to contact someone. Guess I can take that ticket off now.
dragonwriter 7y ago
Well, one of it's blog management tools: this one was an India-limited beta tool that connected to Blogger or WordPress, but Google also seems to have blog management tools with some overlap built in with Blogger, and with Site Kit by Google for WordPress.

137 points by Boulth 7y ago

At some point Google needs to realize that releasing products then killing them like this makes people worry about using them for other projects. Simply going on number of users / revenue per user doesn't seem to be a a great long term strategy.

izacus 7y ago
It seems to have worked for many years now with Google reporting record revenue pretty much every year until now. Why do you think switching to a model where Google bleeds money on unprofitable products will help anything?
- arcticbull 7y ago
  That's a false dichotomy. Just because a system is profitable doesn't mean it will be moving forward or that there aren't more effective operating models out there. Long-term success of a company relies on its ability to adapt. IMO this kind of development cycle has worked up till now, but moving forward, I'd hope they're much more thoughtful and methodical about what they choose to launch and how as it is in fact hurting their brand.
  - izacus 7y ago
    And yet your post (and downvotes) still don't really answer the question: What kind of basis/proof/data is the idea that Google should change it's massively profitable strategy based on? Which metrics besides "gut feeling" or "I don't like it"?
    - arcticbull 7y ago
      It’s a good question, but one I could think of is something relating to success of new products. Ideally you never launch an outright flop, Apple’s had maybe 2 or 3. You can take their strategy and “be right most of the time” or you can reinforce the importance of product market fit and understanding instead of spaghetti model. There’s always an opportunity for research and understanding prior to development, and hiring people who have launched similar successful products. That doesn’t require a pivot just a bit more investment early on and the return can be tracked as a function of success of new products.
      - scarface74 7y ago
        The only major flop that I can think that Apple has had in the last decade is the trash can Mac Pro and that market is so small for Apple it didn’t really affect revenue that much. I think the HomePod may be a flop. But the difference is that the products that flopped aren’t platforms that people came to depend on.
        arcticbull 7y ago
        The iPod Hi-Fi was another, and lest we forget Ping, RIP.
        scarface74 7y ago
        I did say in the last decade. The iPod Hifi was discontinued September 2007. I can list many failures before then - the MacTV, the 20th anniversary Mac, the entire Performa line, the Pippin, the Mac clone program, the Apple III, eWorld, Newton, Cube, System 7 Pro, OpenDoc (and CyberDog),....
        arcticbull 7y ago
        You’re definitely right that the Hi-Fi was earlier, I considered it in the iPod era but you are nonetheless correct. Ping expired September 2012 ^_^
    - scarface74 7y ago
      Based on last quarter’s results where profits on advertising were down year over year as acquisition cost rose faster than revenue on ad sales.
      - joshuamorton 7y ago
        How does that have anything to do with Google's product strategy in a bunch of products that don't show ads?
        scarface74 7y ago
        It needs to find some method of diversification and it will never do that if it kills off products that aren’t immediately profitable instead of finding a business model. Google’s ad business can easily be disrupted by ad blockers.
        joshuamorton 7y ago
        Of course I've heard of it. Unfortunately, you're doing this thing where you state a bunch of at a glance, unrelated facts and leave me to fill in the details. It's the same way people talk about conspiracy theories, and it's an infuriating rhetorical tactic to deal with. So some questions: Do you think that high speed internet is going to be so wildly profitable to cause a clear diversification in Google's profit? My understanding is that it already doesn't have great margins, and google moving in would increase competition, reducing those margins. Do you really believe that google plans to diversify by moving into a complelety non software business like internet utilities? If Google's ad business can be so easily disrupted, why haven't ad blockers noticably done so in the past two decades? Or if they have, why hasn't that impacted Google's profit? If your argument is that it did, but only recently (the TAC stuff), what changed recently to cause that? Do you think that enterprise offerings like cloud aren't diversification?
        scarface74 7y ago
        Do you really believe that google plans to diversify by moving into a complelety non software business like internet utilities? People said it was crazy for Apple to move into the music business (Slashdot: “No Wireless, Less Space than a Nomad, Lame”)and try to open a digital music store (who will buy music when they can get it for free?). That seem to have worked out pretty well. The CEO of Palm said on rumors of the iPhone in 2006 when people thought it was crazy for Apple to get into the phone business “PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in.”. Google’s ad business is being disrupted - their profit was down on ad sales. Facebook knows a lot more about people because people tell Facebook a lot more about themselves and can do better targeting. Also, since most Facebook usage is done through apps, ads are almost impossible to block. Amazon is also getting more into the ad space and they know a lot more about consumer behavior than Google. Their first party ads are also harder to block. iOS fairly recently added native content blockers - where the most valuable consumers are and more traffic is moving to mobile. “Do you think that enterprise offerings like cloud aren't diversification?” It’s a distance third to AWS and Azure. GCP doesn’t have the first mover advantage of Amazon or the advantage of having the advantage of Microsoft’s entrenched base in the enterprise or its sales team.
    - mike_ivanov 7y ago
      > What kind of basis/proof/data Here - https://jamesstuber.com/second-order-effects/ https://jamesstuber.com/second-order-effects/ > is the idea that Google should change No, by all means Google shouldn't. It's too large to be taken down by external forces, but it can (and I hope it will) inflict itself by maintaining its arrogant attitude.
- JaimeThompson 7y ago
  The cost of keeping this product going would be in the low millions which is far from bleeding money.
- scarface74 7y ago
  They are already bleeding money on unprofitable products. After years of trying to diversify, they are still mostly an ad company. On a side note: RIM was most profitable three years after the iPhone came out. Profits are a lagging indicator.
wilde 7y ago
I mean, Ads pays the bills. Everything else is a hobby.

sparrish 7y ago

"it was limited to India for its entire life." Limited launch provided proof that it was a bad market fit and so they 'failed quickly' and shut it down. Isn't this supposed to be how it's done?

Donald 7y ago
Except when their rapid product cycle creates a feedback loop where users are afraid to adopt in fear of a shutdown, thereby increasing the risk of falsely determining a bad market fit.
- diminoten 7y ago
  Users aren't afraid to adopt Google products in any meaningful quantity.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - arcticbull 7y ago
    I know I am. After they killed Health, Reader, Finance and Moderator, it became clear their new services weren't worth my time investing in. They've killed 143 services, 14 apps and 14 pieces of hardware since 2001. [1] I'm not even sure Finance is accurately reflected on this list since it just got neutered. I don't care how big a company you are, killing 10 products per year is one heck of a pace. [1] https://killedbygoogle.com https://killedbygoogle.com
    - libraryatnight 7y ago
      Same here. Some time in the past hearing of a new Google product got me excited. I'd sign up for beta, get my friends onboard etc etc, now I just think "oh something they'll shut down" and largely ignore it.
    - diminoten 7y ago
      Yeah but you're not representative of a significantly sized user population.

Ultramanoid 7y ago

At this point, using any service from Google makes no sense, really. On top of many other reasons, zero trust in the service surviving ( or just reaching ! ) a two year period at least. Obligatory : https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/04/googles-constant-product-shutdowns-are-damaging-its-brand/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/04/googles-constant-pro...

alienallys 7y ago

This is the reason I'm sceptical of signing up for Google Stadia. People are heavily betting it would fail, and Google being Google will be quick to shutdown when it sees that.

scotth 7y ago
I signed up, and I'm looking forward to it. My brother and friends are similarly excited.
- Bombthecat 7y ago
  I just upgraded my pc... In two years I probably go the online cloud gaming route...i hope there will be a cheap stadia "console". All it just needs is an ehternet port and a damn cheap arm. Power usage should be very very low.
  - SmirkingRevenge 7y ago
    What would the point of a Stadia "console" be, when Stadia will already run on a chromecast?
  - nvrspyx 7y ago
    Your Stadia "console" is a Chromecast Ultra and a Stadia controller. It also has ethernet and often sells for less than $80.
    - scotth 7y ago
      You don't even need the controller.
      - nvrspyx 7y ago
        For Chromecast, you do. > Which Chromecast devices are compatible with Stadia? > For launch in November, only the Google Chromecast Ultra will be compatible with Stadia, and you will also need a Stadia Controller and access to Stadia to play with Chromecast. Access to Stadia in November is only available through the Founder's Edition or through a Stadia Buddy Pass. Stay tuned for future announcements regarding additional device compatibility. https://support.google.com/stadia/answer/9338946?hl=en https://support.google.com/stadia/answer/9338946?hl=en

Kye 7y ago

Blogger and Feedburner will probably be the last Google services to shut down. Despite perennial portents of doom for them, they're used heavily on Google's own blogs and get major updates every 1-2 years.

milankragujevic 7y ago
Feedburner wasn't updated since 2010.
- Kye 7y ago
  They keep the list of feed readers on feed pages updated. It’s already perfect as it is as long as they keep the list current. They’re both what I would call mature software. A rare thing for web apps. Updating the list is major from that perspective.
ocdtrekkie 7y ago
Googlers were amongst public Google+'s most prolific users, and Google+ commenting was the way comments were handled on all of these Google blogs right up until the shut down. Internal use does not protected Google products from their fall.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- jdofaz 7y ago
  Agree with your point but google+ wasn’t shutdown, just isn’t free now. You can still use it with your organization if you pay for gsuite.

Proven 7y ago

Google app and service shutdowns aren't much of a problem if you don't use them. There is solution and it's easy.

woranl 7y ago

Also killed by Google https://killedbygoogle.com/ https://killedbygoogle.com/

andrewshadura 7y ago

They're also shutting down Google Trip replacing it with a website (google.com/travel) which is less capable (e.g. you cannot add reservations) and there isn't at the moment any mobile app replacement.

SkyMarshal 7y ago
Never used Trip and don't know how it works, but https://www.kayak.com/ https://www.kayak.com/ lets you store flight/hotel reservations and sends you notifications about them. Also has mobile apps.

dreamcompiler 7y ago

Every time I see a new Google product I think "Oh good. Another Google manager got promoted. Won't hurt me at all as long as I avoid that product."

rograndom 7y ago

I saw this at a the Google booth at trade show right around launch. There was a big panel with information and a 1/3 page take-away with the same information. I tried talking to people at the booth about it but they could only help with with AdWords and didn't know much about the other product apart that there was a flyer I could take. Filed it away as "interesting if it actually gains momentum" and promptly forgot about it until a couple of months ago when a co-worker saw the same booth at another tradeshow and said we should look into it. Saw no further information online than what was at the booth, but made a ticket on Trello to try to contact someone. Guess I can take that ticket off now.

dragonwriter 7y ago

Well, one of it's blog management tools: this one was an India-limited beta tool that connected to Blogger or WordPress, but Google also seems to have blog management tools with some overlap built in with Blogger, and with Site Kit by Google for WordPress.